Nigeria lifts Twitter ban after seven months

  13 January 2022    Read: 586
Nigeria lifts Twitter ban after seven months

Nigeria has lifted its ban on Twitter - seven months after clamping down on the social networking site.

Nigeria's government suspended Twitter last June after the company deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari about punishing regional secessionists.

Authorities accused the social media firm of siding with the secessionists.

But the government said it was reversing the ban after Twitter agreed to conditions including opening a local office in Nigeria.

According to the Nigerian government, Twitter has agreed to:

  • Register in Nigeria during the first quarter of 2022
  • Appoint a designated country representative
  • Comply with tax obligations in Nigeria
  • Enroll Nigeria in its portal for direct communications between government officials and Twitter to manage prohibited content that violates Twitter community rules
  • Act with a respectful acknowledgment of Nigerian laws


Twitter did not say if it had agreed to the government's demands but tweeted that it was "pleased" to be restored in the country and was "deeply committed to Nigeria".

The move allows millions of people in Africa's most populous nation to use the platform again.

Many Nigerians had continued to access the site after the suspension using virtual private networks (VPNs) but most corporate organizations, including many media outfits, had obeyed the government's order.

Analysts believe the ban has cost the Nigerian economy millions of dollars, especially the small businesses which use the platform to reach their customers.


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