Should you worry if Twitter succumbs to Nigerian government’s demands?

Again, Nigerians have been promised the lifting of the four-month-long Twitter ban. After the last promise in August of ‘a few days’ given by the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, President Muhammadu Buhari, in his Independence Day speech, today mentioned that the ban would be lifted conditionally based on the fulfilment of some obligations by the social media giant.

Recall that in early June 2021, the Nigerian government indefinitely suspended Twitter after the platform removed a Tweet by the president for violating its rules. An infringement on citizens’ right to free speech, this move has drawn reactions from human rights advocacy groups across the country.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), for instance, filed an appeal at the ECOWAS court in Abuja asking the court to order the president to lift the ban. However, recent developments show that the case has been adjourned for final judgement on January 20, 2022.

So far, the government claims that the global tech company is only partially cooperating and hasn’t fully met its demands. To that end, it is awaiting a response on three final requests made to the social media platform, which are registration, physical presence in Nigeria, and fair taxation. Continue reading

Image: techpoint.africa