President Muhammadu Buhari announced on Friday that he had directed a conditional suspension of the ban placed on the operations of the micro blogging site, Twitter, in Nigeria in June.
Buhari made this known in his nationwide broadcast to Nigerians to mark the nation’s 61st independence.
He described the social media as a very useful platform but regretted that some users have misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.
The President said, “Social media is a very useful platform that has enabled millions of Nigerians to connect with loved ones, promote their businesses, socialise, and access news and other information.
“However, recent events have shown that the platform is not just an innocuous platform for information dissemination.
“Rather some users have misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.
President Buhari recalled that his administration had suspended the operations of the site in June, thereafter a presidential technical committee was constituted to resolve pending issues with the American tech giant.
He added, “Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements.
“As a country, we are committed to ensuring that digital companies use their platform to enhance the lives of our citizens, respect Nigeria’s sovereignty, cultural values and promote online safety.”
