Telcos Block Access to Twitter in Nigeria

By Emma Okonji

Telecommunication operators, Saturday, received a directive from the telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to suspend access to Twitter accounts in Nigeria.
The order was sequel to the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria by the federal government. The Federal Government had Friday suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service site in Nigeria, citing the persistent use of the Twitter platform for activities that were capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

Twitter ban was announced by the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, two days after Twitter deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet posted Tuesday wherein he threatened to deal with secessionists “in the language they understand”.
The social media giant had said the tweet violated the Twitter Rules.

The President had released series of tweets after meeting with the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday, wherein he warned that those promoting insurrection and those sponsoring destruction of critical national assets would soon have the shock of their lives.

He also threatened to deal with “those misbehaving today” “in the language they understand.”

Shortly after the order to suspend Twitter was announced by the federal government, FaceBook, another social media platform, deleted the same post from its platform. According to Facebook, the post of President Buhari could incite violence, which negates its international standards.
Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, who confirmed the order to deactivate Twitter in Nigeria, said telecoms operators would act in accordance with the NCC order.
THISDAY checks however showed that access to Twitter accounts in Nigeria, had been deactivated.
Nigerians are however navigating their way around the ban through Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers to access the microblogging site by hiding their internet footprints.
A statement from ALTON, reads: “We, The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) wish to confirm that our members have received formal instructions from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator to suspend access to Twitter. ALTON has conducted a robust assessment of the request in accordance with internationally accepted principles.
Based on national interest provisions in the Nigerian Communications “Act, 2003, and within the licence terms under which the industry operates; our members have acted in compliance with the directives of the Nigerian Communications Commisison (NCC) the industry regulator.
We will continue to engage all the relevant authorities and stakeholders and will act as may be further directed by the NCC. We remain committed to supporting the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and upholding the rights of citizens.
“As an industry, we endorse the position of the United Nations that the rights held by people offline must also be protected online. This includes respecting and protecting the rights of all people to communicate, to share information freely and responsibly, and to enjoy privacy and security regarding their data and their use of digital communications.”
Nigerians have been reacting since the suspension order and have warned the federal government not to extend the ban to Facebook, which also controls WhatsApp.