The recent ban on Twitter’s activities in Nigeria has been applauded by some who feel it is a step in the right direction. According to a poll conducted by POLITICS NIGERIA on twitter, 18 percent of the 953 respondents concluded that the ban on the microblogging platform announced by the Nigerian government is a good one.
“Good decision, Twitter plan is evil,” says Adeniyi Jose one of the respondents.
https://twitter.com/adeniyi_jose/status/1400919843688398848?s=19
However, 83 percent of the respondents kicked against the idea as it infringes on the citizens freedom of expression.
“We need freedom of speech on social media, either they like it or not,” a twitter user says.
We need freedom of speech on social media, either they like it or not
— Am not happy now (@Saint_hris) June 4, 2021
Another said: “Twitter is Voice of Nigerian people. Banning Twitter is not a good idea for Nigerian government.”
Twitter is Voice of Nigerian people. Banning Twitter is not a good idea for Nigerian government.
— loveworld (@LoveWorld_Peopl) June 4, 2021
On Friday, the information minister, Lai Muhammad, announced the ban and a federal government directive ordering National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.
Owing to the the restrictions, Nigerians have been denied access to Twitter and can only access by bypassing domain restrictions through alternative mediums.The ban came after the social media giant deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s controversial tweet about the civil war after some Nigerian users found it inciting.
The Nigerian government had accused the platform of meddling in Nigeria’s internal affairs and undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence. Nevertheless, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has ordered the prosecution of Twitter users in Nigeria while human rights groups have continued to demand reversal of the suspension.
