Nigeria Announces Twitter Has Been ‘Indefinitely’ Suspended

Those residing in Nigeria will no longer have access to Twitter.

The country’s Ministry of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed announced on Friday that the social media platform has been suspended in Nigeria, according to The Washington Post. In a statement, Mohammed rebuked “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.” 

The moratorium occurred after Twitter froze the account of the nation’s president, Muhammadu Buhari who tweeted about punishing Nigerian separatists who have been held responsible for damaging federal property. “Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War,” Buhari wrote. “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.” A retired general, Buhari was referring to the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War.

Twitter removed Buhari’s post, saying it violated the platform’s “abusive behavior” policy. The president’s account was also suspended and was in read-only mode for 12 hours. “The announcement made by the Nigerian Government that they have suspended Twitter’s operations in Nigeria is deeply concerning,” Twitter said in a statement, also saying that it would investigate the incident. It’s unclear how and when Nigeria’s restriction on Twitter will begin.