The Federal Government of Nigeria has lifted the ban on Twitter, thereby enabling the United States micro-blogging platform to recommence service by midnight of January 13.
Nigerians now have access to the services of the social networking platform following the lift of the ban on its operations in the country.
A statement by the Technical Committee Chairman on Nigeria/Twitter Engagement, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said Twitter has met all the conditions set by the government.
Inuwa, who is also the director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said the government directed that the decision be communicated to Nigerians.
The decision was taken President Muhammadu Buhari approved the memo from Communications and Digital Economy Minister Isa Ali Ibrahim.
The NITDA boss said the lifting of the ban was a deliberate attempt to restore Nigeria’s relationship with Twitter to achieve the maximum mutual benefits for both parties.
Furthermore, the government warned the platform users to refrain from promoting divisive, dangerous and distasteful information.
It also advised all internet platforms against committing a crime by using a Nigerian Internet Protocol (IP).
”Such offence is synonymous with committing a crime within our jurisdiction,” Inuwa said in the statement
Listing the conditions agreed to by Twitter, Inuwa said:
Twitter has committed to establishing a legal entity in Nigeria during the first quarter of 2022. The legal entity will register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The establishment of the entity is Twitter’s first step in demonstrating its long-term commitment to Nigeria.
Twitter has agreed to appoint a designated country representative to interface with Nigerian authorities. The Global Public Policy team is also directly available through a dedicated communication channel.
Twitter has agreed to comply with applicable tax obligations on its operations under Nigerian law.
Twitter has agreed to enrol Nigeria in its Partner Support and Law Enforcement Portals. The Partner Support Portal provides a direct channel for government officials and Twitter staff to manage prohibited content that violates Twitter community rules. At the same time, the Law Enforcement Portal provides a channel for the law enforcement agencies to submit a report with a legal justification where it suspects that content violates Nigerian Laws. Taken together, these represent a comprehensive compliance apparatus; and
Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgement of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built and work with the FGN and the broader industry to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries.
