Twitter Spares Kanu But Deletes Buhari’s Post Out Of Malice — Daniel Bwala

A lawyer, Dr Daniel Bwala, has said social media giant, Twitter,
deleted a post by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari
(retd.), out of malice but failed to delete the inciting posts of
leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

Bwala, who spoke in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on
Wednesday, accused Twitter Chief Executive Officer, Jack Dorsey, of
supporting a process that could have led to insurrection in Nigeria
since last October during the #EndSARS protest.

Recall that the President, on Tuesday, condemned the attacks on
police stations, prisons and offices of the Independent National
Electoral Commission, especially in the South-East, warning that
those supporting insurrection and violence in the country would be
shocked.

Buhari had 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.”

The President’s tweet riled some persons who felt he was
insensitive to have made an analogy of the civil war. His critics
subsequently reported the tweet to Twitter and the microblogging
site later deleted the post with a comment, “This Tweet violated
the Twitter Rules”.

Commenting on the matter, Bwala, a member of the All
Progressives Congress, argued that what the President said and what
he tweeted was not against the people of the South-East but was in
relation to criminal elements involved in the burning of government
installations and the killings of uniformed men and private
citizens of the country.

He said, “The President did not violate Twitter rules. Twitter
deleted Buhari’s tweet out of malice. The founder or owner of
Twitter is a known and interested party in Nigeria forgetting that
you cannot be a jury and a judge in your own case.

“You will recall during the #EndSARS (protests), Jack Dorsey did
not only support the #EndSARS protests but also retweeted the means
of contributing to the funds used for the protests.

“That incident cannot be treated in isolation; it has never
happened anywhere in the world where the owner of Twitter takes
part in the protests of private citizens.

“So, tacitly or obviously, he had indicated expression of
dissatisfaction towards the President.”

“Kanu has tweeted what has obviously created crisis that has led
to so many loss of lives in Nigeria yet his tweets have not been
removed. Do you need any further case to establish that the owner
of Twitter is an interested party?” the lawyer asked.

Bwala also urged the Federal Government to launch an official
complaint with the United States Congress to invite Twitter CEO to
explain his recent role in the activities in Nigeria that are
widely regarded as agitation for secession.

Twitter had in January banned former United States President,
Donald Trump, for his inciting comments which led to the attack on
the US Capitol.

A lawyer, Dr Daniel Bwala, has said social media giant, Twitter,
deleted a post by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari
(retd.), out of malice but failed to delete the inciting posts of
leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

Bwala, who spoke in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on
Wednesday, accused Twitter Chief Executive Officer, Jack Dorsey, of
supporting a process that could have led to insurrection in Nigeria
since last October during the #EndSARS protest.

Recall that the President, on Tuesday, condemned the attacks on
police stations, prisons and offices of the Independent National
Electoral Commission, especially in the South-East, warning that
those supporting insurrection and violence in the country would be
shocked.

Buhari had 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.”

The President’s tweet riled some persons who felt he was
insensitive to have made an analogy of the civil war. His critics
subsequently reported the tweet to Twitter and the microblogging
site later deleted the post with a comment, “This Tweet violated
the Twitter Rules”.

Commenting on the matter, Bwala, a member of the All
Progressives Congress, argued that what the President said and what
he tweeted was not against the people of the South-East but was in
relation to criminal elements involved in the burning of government
installations and the killings of uniformed men and private
citizens of the country.

He said, “The President did not violate Twitter rules. Twitter
deleted Buhari’s tweet out of malice. The founder or owner of
Twitter is a known and interested party in Nigeria forgetting that
you cannot be a jury and a judge in your own case.

“You will recall during the #EndSARS (protests), Jack Dorsey did
not only support the #EndSARS protests but also retweeted the means
of contributing to the funds used for the protests.

“That incident cannot be treated in isolation; it has never
happened anywhere in the world where the owner of Twitter takes
part in the protests of private citizens.

“So, tacitly or obviously, he had indicated expression of
dissatisfaction towards the President.”

“Kanu has tweeted what has obviously created crisis that has led
to so many loss of lives in Nigeria yet his tweets have not been
removed. Do you need any further case to establish that the owner
of Twitter is an interested party?” the lawyer asked.

Bwala also urged the Federal Government to launch an official
complaint with the United States Congress to invite Twitter CEO to
explain his recent role in the activities in Nigeria that are
widely regarded as agitation for secession.

Twitter had in January banned former United States President,
Donald Trump, for his inciting comments which led to the attack on
the US Capitol.