According to TechCrunch, the Nigerian government has lifted the ban on the social media giant more than 6 months after it first announced an indefinite suspension of Twitter services. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Authority (NITDA), Nigeria's science and technology agency, announced the news today through a statement. He was appointed chairman of a committee set up by the Nigerian government (the Nigeria-Twitter Interactive Technical Committee) to oversee talks between West African countries and Twitter in the wake of the ban.
Abdullahi said the plan was approved after the country's minister of communications and digital economy wrote a memorandum to President Muhammadu Buhari. The statement also revealed that the ban will be lifted immediately before midnight WAT on January 13, 2022.
"The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) instructed me to inform the public that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the lifting of the ban on the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria starting at 12:00 tonight on 13 January 2022," the statement read. The approval follows a memorandum written to the president by Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. In the memorandum, the minister updated and requested the president's approval to cancel the program on the recommendation of the Nigeria-Twitter Technical Committee. ”
Abdullahi also noted in the statement that Twitter had agreed to "establish a legal entity in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2022". According to the statement, the establishment of Twitter's legal entity was the social media giant's "first step in demonstrating its long-term commitment to Nigeria."
Nigeria said Twitter, which set up its first Africa office in Ghana last April, failed to meet three requirements to resume the company's operations in the country months after the ban was enacted. Nigeria's Information Minister Lai Mohammed made the announcement last August.
In addition to setting up a local office or legal entity in the country, other unanswered requests were to pay taxes locally and work with the Nigerian government to regulate content and harmful tweets. It appears that the Government of Nigeria has made some progress on these requirements. According to a statement released by the government, Twitter will also appoint a "designated country representative" to hold talks with the Nigerian government if needed.
"Twitter has agreed to comply with applicable tax obligations imposed by Nigerian law on its business." The statement also stated: "Twitter has agreed to include Nigeria in its partner support and enforcement portal. ”
The portals will become a medium for Twitter staff and Nigerian management of prohibited content that violates the rules of the Twitter community, and nigerian law enforcement agencies can also report if Twitter violates Nigerian law.
"Twitter has agreed to recognize nigerian law and the culture and history of the country on which such legislation is based with respect, and has worked with the FGN and the wider industry to develop a code of conduct that is consistent with global best practices and applies to almost all developed countries," Abdullahi said through a section of the statement.
Last June, Nigeria suspended Twitter's operations after the company removed a controversial post by Nigeria's president threatening to punish regional separatists. Mohammed, who announced the news, said the continued use of the platform for "activities capable of disrupting the presence of Nigerian companies" was the main reason for retaliation. In the months that followed, several individuals and businesses called for the platform to be reinstated, while former U.S. President Donald Trump and others praised the move.
In a televised address to the president celebrating the 61st anniversary of Nigeria's independence in October, Buhari said the ban would only be lifted if the social media giant met certain conditions. In a corresponding emailed statement sent to TechCrunch, Twitter said through a spokesperson that "discussions with the Nigerian government were mutually respectful and productive" as it looked forward to "seeing the resumption of service soon".
Three months on, the two sides seem to have reached an agreement. TechCrunch asked Twitter for comments and confirmed whether the company met the above conditions. However, no response had been received as of press time.