Lai Mohammed, minister of information, says Twitter will
open its Nigerian office within the first quarter of 2022.
In June 2021, the federal government announced the
indefinite suspension of Twitter’s operation after the platform deleted tweets
made by President Muhammadu Buhari, who had threatened to treat members of the
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the “language they understand”.
In August, the information minister said the conditions
given to the microblogging platform have been accepted, adding that Twitter has
agreed to set up an office in Nigeria.
The president approved the lifting of the suspension on Twitter
in January.
Speaking during a radio programme on Saturday, Mohammed said
the agreements reached with Twitter will be extended to other social media
platforms to ensure only “wholesome contents” are posted.
“We are going to regulate the social media not because we
want to stifle the media or we want to violate the right of expression. We want
to ensure that only wholesome contents are available on social media,” the
minister said.
“Recently, we were all shocked when an 18-year old boy
accused of killing his 21-year old girlfriend for money rituals confessed that
he leant the diabolical act on social media. The teenager, in collaboration
with his friends, cut off the head of the victim and were burning it in a pot
when they were apprehended.
“The government has
the responsibility to ensure that social media platforms are responsible and
the contents they displayed were not harmful to young people as well as the
unity of the country.
“Twitter also agreed to comply with all payable taxes, as
they are operating under Nigerian laws and this they agreed to do within one
week of restoring their operations. Twitter agreed to immediately work with the
federal government in the area of code of conduct that are in line with global best
practices
“Twitter agreed to immediately enrol Nigerians in its law
enforcement portals and partners support portal. The law enforcement portal
will provide dedicated channels for the Nigerian law enforcement agencies to
escalate reports on content that violate the code of conduct or national laws.
“Similarly, the partner support portal provides a direct
channel for government to engage Twitter staff to manage prohibited contents.”
The minister reiterated that relevant laws and the broadcasting
code would be amended to ensure that the agreements reached with Twitter would
be applicable to other social media platforms.
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