Tit-for-Tat: Nigerian government bans Twitter two days after the media giant suspended President Buhari’s account

Abuja, Nigeria – Some call it “Fire-for-Fire,” others say it is “Tit-for-Tat.” However, the Nigerian government said Twitter was suspended because it is “capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”

On June 2nd, Twitter said it had deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet because it violated the site’s rules against abusive behaviour. In addition, the technology giant also suspended the Nigerian president’s account for 12 hours.

On June 4th, 2021, the Nigerian government said it was indefinitely suspending Twitter’s operations in the country. A statement issued by the ministry of information and culture spokesman, Segun Adeyemi said, “The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria.”

Many find the retaliation shocking, especially because it was only two days after the social media network removed a post from President Buhari that made a reference to the country’s 30-month civil war in 1967-1970, warning “those who wanted the government to fail” to desist from fomenting trouble.

Buhari’s post, which was deleted later on the same day, said: “Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigeria civil war. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”

Twitter finds the President’s comment offensive and abusive, and as a result, they issued a warning and carried out a suspension of Buhari’s social media account.

But, the Nigerian government tried to convince everyone that it was not a tit-for-tat situation.

The Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the country’s decision to suspend Twitter is in the interest of national security and peace.

According to a report by the Chinese Xinhua news agency, Onyeama made the announcement on Monday in a closed-door meeting with ambassadors and representatives of the US, the UK, Canada, Ireland, and the European Union.

He told reporters that President Muhammadu Buhari is keen on ensuring the peace and security of Nigerians and Nigeria, and that the government advocates responsible use of social media platforms that does not destabilise the country’s peace and unity.

Onyeama added, “Unfortunately, the bad that social media is often used to commit has very dire consequences on human lives and, in our case, also threatens the unity of the country.”

Amnesty International condemned the move, calling on Nigeria to “immediately reverse the unlawful suspension.”

“This repressive action is a clear attempt to censor, dissent and stifle the civic space,” Human Rights Watch researcher Anietie Ewang, said.

In 2019, Nigeria had announced it would tighten regulations on social media to fight fake news and disinformation, sparking concerns over freedom of expression.

Several other countries, including China and Turkey, have come under fire for putting restrictions on social media platforms, such as Twitter.

In February, Twitter condemned Myanmar for blocking access to its platform as part of a crackdown on social media, coming just days after a coup that saw Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders jailed.

Twitter mentioned that the move made by the Nigerian government was “deeply concerning.”