The United States of America has advised the Nigerian government to immediately lift the suspension placed on the usage of the social media platform, Twitter, in the country.
This was communicated in a message by the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, conveyed by the US Mission in Nigeria.
Power said: “There are nearly 40 million Twitter users in #Nigeria, and the country is home to Africa’s largest tech hub. This suspension is nothing more than state-sanctioned denial of free speech and should be reversed immediately. #KeepitOn.”
Last Friday, Federal authorities suspended access to Twitter indefinitely after Buhari’s tweet was deleted.
The President had stated that many of those engaging in criminal acts in the South-East region of the country were young and did not witness the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian civil war of 1967 - 1970.
“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand”, the former General warned.
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After the deletion, Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, condemned “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
The government directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to start the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations.
The NBC was also ordered to force broadcast stations – Television and Radio – to stop using Twitter or face the consequences.
The actions are being criticized by Nigerians, countries, local and international organizations.
On Tuesday, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and concerned citizens filed a lawsuit against Buhari administration over “the unlawful suspension of Twitter”.
The plaintiffs, in the suit filed by legal luminary, Femi Falana (SAN), want an end to the criminalization of Nigerians using the micro-blogging site, the repression of: human rights, freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.
