Nigerian users can now access the micro-blogging site without the aid of a VPN. Twitter is back on stream in Nigeria hours after the federal government announced the lifting of the suspension earlier placed on the social media platform 215 days ago.
As at the time of this report, the restoration has been partial as users of service providers other than MTN and Airtel still couldn’t get access to the platform.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Friday, June 4, 2021, placed an embargo on Twitter operations in Nigeria over several allegations which included fueling insecurity in the country.
The president’s decision was greeted with wide condemnations from within and outside the shores as some adamant citizens resolved to use Virtual Private Network (VPN) to bypass the ban.
The federal government later reeled out certain pre-conditions that must be fulfilled by Twitter before it can be allowed to continue operations on Nigerian internet space.
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Consequently, a committee was set up to interface with representatives of the site as both parties strive to wriggle out of the impasse.
After several teasing and endless updates on Twitter’s compliance, the federal government on Wednesday, January 12, finally let go of the ban.
Announcing the decision, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency who also doubles as the Chairman Technical Committee Nigeria-Twitter Engagement, Kashifu Abdullahi said “The Federal Government of Nigeria directs me to inform the public that President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the lifting of the suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria effective from 12 am tonight, January 13, 2022.”
Meanwhile, the suspension of the ban has elicited different reactions from Nigerians. Some people have attributed the decision to the fast-approaching 2023 general elections while others were just pleased to switch off their VPN apps.
