Saraki Asks Nigerian Govt To Review Twitter Suspension

Former Senate President of Nigeria, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has called for a review of the suspension on Twitter.

Gatekeepers News reports that Former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has called for a review of the Federal Government’s decision to suspend the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria.

The FG had earlier on Friday suspended, indefinitely, the operations of Twitter, in Nigeria.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension in a statement through the Special Assistant To The President (Media), Office of the Minister of Information and Culture, Abuja, Segun Adeyemi.

He cited the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

Saraki, while reacting in a tweet on his official Twitter page, said:

“No sir! This should not be the response from the president of a nation with a vibrant youthful population for whom #Twitter is part of their daily lives and a source of their income and livelihood. This must be reviewed.”

Twitter had earlier deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari in which he threatened to punish pro-Biafra groups blamed for escalating attacks on government and security authorities.

The social media platform said Buhari’s tweet violated its “abusive behaviour” policy, leading to a 12-hour suspension of his account.

The tweet promised a response to waves of attacks blamed on the Eastern Security Network (ESN), an armed group which emerged from the main pro-Biafran secessionist movement, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Similarly, Twitter pulled down a threat video where President Buhari warned youths of fueling insecurity.

The video which was initially posted on the official handle of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, @NGRPresident, was deemed genocidal.

In the video, while the president was addressing the attacks on INEC facilities in the region, he stated the role he played alongside other Nigerian military officers in the Nigerian Civil War of 1966-70, which led to the killing of over three million Igbos.