Nigeria lifts Twitter ban from midnight, government says

Nigeria has lifted its ban on Twitter from midnight after the social media platform reached an agreement with the government.

The micro-blogging social media platform agreed to open a local office, among other agreements with authorities in the West African country, a senior government official said on Wednesday, January 13.

The Nigerian government suspended Twitter on June 4, 2021, after it removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists.

Subsequently, a number of Telecoms companies blocked access to users in Nigeria.

The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said in a statement that President Buhari had given the approval to lift the suspension.

"Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgement of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built...," Abdullahi's statement said.

The company would work with the federal government and the broader industry "to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries," it said.

"Therefore, the (federal government) lifts the suspension of the Twitter operations in Nigeria from midnight of 13th January 2022."

Abdullahi, who also chaired a joint technical committee of Nigerian and Twitter officials, said the U.S. company agreed to appoint a country representative to engage with Nigerian authorities and comply with local tax obligations.