FG Twitter Ban: How The Ban Will Be Implemented

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture announced the suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria through a statement issued in Abuja on Friday as reported by Osun Defender, “citing the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

“The Minister said the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.”

The issue leading to the ban by the Federal Government started when on Wednesday afternoon, a tweet put out by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari through his handle @MBuhari on Tuesday was deleted by Twitter after many calls by Nigerians.

He tweeted, “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.”

How will the Federal Government implement the ban?

The suspension of Twitter would mean that Internet Service Providers (ISP) in Nigeria like MTN Airtel etc will be mandated not to give users access to Twitter.

The ISPs will block twitter’s IP addresses from all its users, or delete the sites from their DNS servers. Users will be told the site doesn’t exist when they try to connect.

However, it appears that such a directive has not been given to the ISP’s, as users are still able to use the app as of Friday night.