The Nigerian government said in a statement Friday that it had suspended Twitter activities in Africa's most populous country, two days after the social network deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari.
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"
The federal government has suspended, for an indefinite period, the activities of the microblogging service and social network Twitter in Nigeria,
" said the Ministry of Information and Culture in this statement.
As of late Friday afternoon, the social network was still operating in Nigeria, AFP journalists in the country observed.
The statement was also posted on the ministry's Twitter account.
"
Activities suspended for an indefinite period
"
Asked by AFP, the ministry's special adviser, Segun Adeyemi, confirmed to AFP that "
activities will be suspended indefinitely
".
On Wednesday, Twitter deleted a message from President Buhari that threatened those responsible for the current violence in south-eastern Nigeria, the social network believing that the head of state was breaking its rules of use.
Buhari's Information Minister Lai Mohammed replied in a press message that while Twitter has its own rules, the president has the right to comment on the situation in Nigeria.
He had notably accused the social network of tolerating the messages of the leader of a separatist group active in south-eastern Nigeria which, according to him, encouraged violence.
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The minister also referred to the call made last year by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to donate bitcoins to support protests against police violence that rocked the country.
“
Twitter's mission to Nigeria after these two examples is very suspect.
What are his intentions?
“, He had launched to journalists.
Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa, but the government is regularly singled out by human rights organizations. In November 2019, the government had put in place stricter measures to regulate the media and fight against disinformation on social networks, which had been perceived by civil society as a restriction on freedom of expression.