Nigeria’s Minister of information and culture Lai Mohammed has announced an indefinite suspension of Twitter two days after the social media platform temporarily restricted President Muhammadu Buhari’s account.
Mohammed made the announcement Friday in the capital, Abuja, citing safety concerns.
In a statement from Segun Adeyemi, special assistant to the president, Mohammed condemned “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence…”
Twitter on Wednesday removed a post by Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari. The tweet threatened to punish insurgents in the southeast of the country blamed for the incessant attacks on security formations, arson, vandalisation of electoral infrastructure among others.
“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,” wrote Buhari, a retired general, referring to the 1967-70 civil war.
“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
The social media platform said Buhari’s tweet violated its “abusive behavior” policy and therefore removed the post and suspended his account for 12 hours.