President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his Government will not allow a recurrence of the civil war.
Gatekeepers News reports that President Muhammadu Buhari said that his Government suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, to avoid recurrence of the civil war.
Minister of Information and Culture, 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.
The Presidency clarified that the indefinite suspension wasn’t in response to the removal of the president’s post but that the platform has been used to spread misinformation and fake news.
In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, he said that the terrorist organisation (IPOB) poses a significant threat the corporate existence of Nigeria.
“The temporary suspension of Twitter is not just a response to the removal of the President’s post. There has been a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences. All the while, the company has escaped accountability.
“Nevertheless, the removal of President Buhari’s tweet was disappointing. The censoring seemed based on a misunderstanding of the challenges Nigeria faces today.
The President in his address at the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA in 2019 said “the world was shocked and startled by the massacre in New Zealand by a lone gunman taking the lives of 50 worshippers.”
“This and similar crimes which have been fueled by social media networks risk seeping into the fabric of an emerging digital culture.”
The statement further added that major tech companies must be alive to their responsibilities as they cannot be allowed to continue to facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of many lives and could tear some countries apart.
President Buhari has therefore been warning against social media’s disruptive and divisive influences and the government’s action is not a knee-jerk reaction to Twitter’s preposterous deletion of his tweet which should have been read in full.
Garba added that the President’s tweet was not a threat, “but a statement of fact.
“A terrorist organisation (IPOB) poses a significant threat to the safety and security of Nigerian citizens.
“When the President said that they will be treated “in a language they understand,” he merely reiterated that their force shall be met with force. It is a basic principle of security services response world over.
“This is not promotion of hate, but a pledge to uphold citizens’ right to freedom from harm. The government cannot be expected to capitulate to terrorists.
“IPOB is proscribed under Nigerian law. Its members murder innocent Nigerians. They kill policemen and set government property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across the country.
“Twitter does not seem to appreciate the national trauma of our country’s civil war. This government shall not allow a recurrence of that tragedy.
