US Says Nigeria Sending Wrong Message To Investors With Twitter Ban
The United States government has condemned the decision of the Federal Government to ban the operation of social blogging site, Twitter in Nigeria.
The US government said the ban is akin to undermining the abilities of Nigeria to exercise their fundamental freedom, adding that such action sends wrong message to investors.
Twitter had on Wednesday deleted a controversial tweet by President Buhari, stating, “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules”.
The Bushti tweet read in part, “Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
However, barely twenty four hours after the social media giant deleted the president’s tweet, the federal government announced the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, with Telecom operators, MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile all in compliance with the order suspended access to Nigerians on the social media platform.
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension of Twitter activities on Friday via an official statement.
The statement read, “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.”
But as Nigerians continue to fume over the clamp down by the government, the US Mission in Nigeria in a statement on Saturday frowned at the Federal government’s decision, nothing that more communication and not less promotes growth.
The statement read, “Nigeria’s constitution provides for freedom of expression. The Government’s recent #Twitterban undermines Nigerians’ ability to exercise this fundamental freedom and sends a poor message to its citizens, investors and businesses.
“Banning social media and curbing every citizen’s ability to seek, receive, and impart information undermines fundamental freedoms. As President Biden has stated, our need for individual expression, open public conversation, and accountability has never been greater. The path to a more secure Nigeria lies in more, not less communication, alongside concerted efforts toward unity, peace, and prosperity”
Meanwhile, the federal government has ordered the prosecution of offenders of the Federal Government ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria.
The Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami directed the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) at his office to swing into action and commence in earnest the process of prosecution of violators of the Federal Government De-activation of opetations of Twitter in Nigeria.
“The DPPF is to liase with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication Communication (NCC) and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders without any further delay.”
Some Nigerians in a bid to defy the government ‘s order took to an alternative platform, Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access Twitter
Using a VPN understandably makes one feel invincible, but there are still a few important risks involved that should one keep in mind. VPNs provide two of the most important services which are encryption and virtual IP addresses.
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