Abuja: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday he had directed the government to lift the suspension of Twitter in the country if the social media network complies with national regulations.
Soon after the government announced the ban in June, Twitter reached out to the Nigerian government to “resolve the impasse,” Buhari said during his address to the nation to mark the 61st anniversary of the country’s independence. He added that a Presidential Committee was later set up to engage Twitter in exploring the possibility of resolving the issue.
“Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements,” the president said, as quoted by the Punch newspaper.
The ban was issued on June 5 two days after Twitter deleted a post by Buhari, in which he brought up the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War to threaten to treat “those misbehaving today” in “the language they will understand.” Some Nigerian media interpreted the tweet as a threat to those supporting the separation of Biafra, a southeastern region that attempted to secede in the late 1960s, resulting in a three-year civil war.
