Twitter in Nigeria Suspended 'Indefinitely’ Over President Muhammadu Buhari's Deleted Tweet

Twitter was suspended ‘indefinitely’ in Nigeria after it deleted President Muhammadu Buhari's tweet referring to the country civil war for violating the platform’s rules. Gadgets 360 was informed by a Twitter source that the suspension of the social media account was based on the claim that the president's tweet violated the company’s rules for "hateful conduct."

Shortly after this claim was posted on Twitter, Gadgets 360 spoke to a Twitter spokesperson, who confirmed to Gadgets 360 that the suspension of Buhari's account is "related to hateful conduct." The Twitter spokesperson added that the reason for the suspension can't be explained and referred to a "process" that the company follows "consistently."

The spokesperson also added that the deletion of the Buhari tweet is related to the claim by "multiple" users of Twitter that it violated its rules.

Also, when asked about the Buhari tweet which showed the president on the ground being helped by others by pulling on his arm, the spokesperson said "we only delete Tweets that meet our quality standards for use on Twitter," and when asked about the policy of deleting tweets by users, the spokesperson added that "we do not comment on individual accounts."

The tweet, as shared by Buhari, reads: “My fellow Nigerians, after careful consideration and debate, I have decided to return to the people of Nigeria to serve them more effectively. God willing, I will return in the first quarter of 2019.”

This followed the suspension of the social media account of the president’s nephew and adviser Femi Fani-Kayode over alleged “hateful conduct”.

When asked about the deletion of Fani-Kayode’s account, the Twitter spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on individual accounts. However, we take action on accounts that are engaging in hateful conduct.” 

President Buhari’s tweet received over 12,000 likes within two days. Twitter deleted it on Friday after a group of users expressed their outrage on the perceived injustice of the action.

“We would like to remind our followers that tweets violating Twitter's rules and regulations will be blocked. In order to stay safe, verify your account,” read the statement. Twitter had not responded to a Gadgets 360 email seeking further details.

The social media platform's action has, however, not gone down well with the public. Many Nigerians, who are critical of Twitter's move, described it as censorship.

“It's a new low for this platform. Is Twitter doing this in other countries? Twitter blocked the US Army page to promote its new GI Joe series. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that Twitter is acting for political reasons.”

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