FG Finally Lifts Twitter Ban, Ahead of 2023 Elections.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has lifted the ban on Twitter operations across the country after 222 days and economic losses of about N546.5 billion.

The Lifting of the Twitter ban was made known yesterday. by the Chairman Technical Committee Nigeria-Twitter Engagement and Director-General National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.

In the statement released, Kashifu said the approval was given following a memo written to the President by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim.

He noted that Twitter has agreed to the conditions of the Federal government which includes establishing a legal entity in Nigeria during the first quarter of 2022, appointing a designated country representative to interface with Nigerian authorities, complying with applicable tax obligations on its operations under Nigerian law amongst others and the lifting of the ban took effect from midnight of 13th January 2022.

The statement reads in part ‘‘The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) directs me to inform the public that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the lifting of the suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria effective from 12am tonight, 13th January 2022.

The Federal Government further encourage all users on the platform to maintain ethical behaviour and refrain from promoting divisive, dangerous, and distasteful information on the platform. They noted that committing a crime using a Nigerian Internet Protocol (IP) is synonymous with committing a crime within the Nigerian jurisdiction.

Recall that the Federal Government suspended the operation of Twitter on the 5th of June 2021 through an announcement made by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

The Federal Government noted the use of the platform for subversive purposes and criminal activities, propagating fake news was the reason for the suspension of  Twitter operation in Nigeria.

The Federal Government has asked Twitter to fulfil some conditions before restoring its services. These conditions addressed legal registration of operations, taxation, and managing prohibited publication in line with Nigerian laws.