The sudden move to suspend the social media giant’s operations ‘indefinitely’ is likely to dismay international partners and civil society activists.
The Nigerian government’s decision to ‘indefinitely’ suspend Twitter’s operations and order the country’s mobile networks to block access to the site has prompted an angry statement from the US and other international partners.
The minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension of the social media network in a statement posted on the ministry’s official Twitter account on Friday, citing a “persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.” By Sunday, citizens were unable to connect to Twitter through MTN and Airtel, two of the country’s largest phone networks.
The ban prompted a joint statement by major international partners including the US, UK and European Union.
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