Nigeria lifts ban on Twitter

ABUJA. – Seven months after Twitter was made unavailable in Africa’s most populous country, Nigerians could access the platform again on Thursday.

The return of Twitter in Nigeria made headlines yesterday. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari went back on its decision to suspend the American firm.

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the director-general of the country’s National Information Technology Development Agency, announced the lift of the ban on Wednesday evening.

On June, Nigeria halted Twitter operations after the social media took down one of the president’s tweet in which he referred to the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War. Authorities then accused the platform of partiality when it pleaded that tweet went against Twitter Rules

“Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgement of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built…,” Abdullahi’s statement said.

The company would work with the federal government and the broader industry “to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries,” it said.

Abdullahi, who also chaired a joint technical committee of Nigerian and Twitter officials, said the US company agreed to appoint a country representative to engage with Nigerian authorities and comply with local tax obligations. – africanews.com

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