We Have Agreed On Seven Out Of 10 Requests Made To Twitter, Says Lai Mohammed

Nigeria expects to lift its ban on Twitter before the end of the
year, Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, told Reuters on Thursday,
adding that the government was awaiting a response on three final
requests made of the social media platform.

Mohammed said the government had reached agreements on seven of
10 requests made to Twitter but was waiting for the company’s
response on final issues, including setting up a local office,
paying tax locally and cooperating with the government to regulate
content and harmful tweets.

“We certainly want to put this behind us before the end of the
year,” Mohammed said.

Twitter declined to comment.

The government suspended Twitter on June 4 after it removed a
post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish
regional secessionists.

It was a culmination of months of tension. Twitter Chief
Executive Jack Dorsey’s posts encouraging donations to anti-police
brutality protests last October and Twitter posts from Nnamdi Kanu,
a Biafran separatist leader currently on trial in Abuja, infuriated
authorities.

Mohammed said Twitter “made their platform the platform of
choice for separatists”, and was suspended because it threatened
national unity.

Last month, Nigeria’s broadcasting regulator asked TV stations
to curb their reporting of security issues in the country by
withholding details of incidents and victims. read & comment now

Mohammed said concerns over deteriorating freedom of speech were
the result of misinformation. He added he was currently in
Washington, D.C. meeting with journalists and opinion leaders in an
effort to counter such misunderstandings.

Nigeria expects to lift its ban on Twitter before the end of the
year, Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, told Reuters on Thursday,
adding that the government was awaiting a response on three final
requests made of the social media platform.

Mohammed said the government had reached agreements on seven of
10 requests made to Twitter but was waiting for the company’s
response on final issues, including setting up a local office,
paying tax locally and cooperating with the government to regulate
content and harmful tweets.

“We certainly want to put this behind us before the end of the
year,” Mohammed said.

Twitter declined to comment.

The government suspended Twitter on June 4 after it removed a
post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish
regional secessionists.

It was a culmination of months of tension. Twitter Chief
Executive Jack Dorsey’s posts encouraging donations to anti-police
brutality protests last October and Twitter posts from Nnamdi Kanu,
a Biafran separatist leader currently on trial in Abuja, infuriated
authorities.

Mohammed said Twitter “made their platform the platform of
choice for separatists”, and was suspended because it threatened
national unity.

Last month, Nigeria’s broadcasting regulator asked TV stations
to curb their reporting of security issues in the country by
withholding details of incidents and victims. read & comment now

Mohammed said concerns over deteriorating freedom of speech were
the result of misinformation. He added he was currently in
Washington, D.C. meeting with journalists and opinion leaders in an
effort to counter such misunderstandings.