The Nigerian government has announced the indefinite suspension of microblogging platform, Twitter.

Africa's most populous nation said the move was connected to "the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence."

The move comes days after the company deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari over violation of platform rules.

The said tweet was connected to a threat by the president to "deal with" hoodlums in the language that they understood whiles referring to the Nigerian Civil War.

Statement: FG Suspends Twitter Operations in Nigeria

The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, citing the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence.

The Minister said the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting l Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.

Special Assistant To The President (Media)
Office of the Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja
4 June 2021