A senior government official said on Wednesday that a ban on Twitter (TWTR.N) in Nigeria will be lifted at midnight after the social media platform agreed to create a local office, among other agreements with authorities in the West African country.
On June 4, the Nigerian government stopped Twitter after President Muhammadu Buhari’s post threatening to punish regional secessionists was removed. Users in Nigeria were then denied access by telecommunications operators.
Buhari had given authority to lift the restriction, according to Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency.
“Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgment of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built…,” Abdullahi’s statement said.
The company would work with the federal government and the broader industry “to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries,” it said.
“Therefore, the (federal government) lifts the suspension of the Twitter operations in Nigeria from midnight of 13th January 2022.”
Abdullahi, who also chaired a joint technical committee of Nigerian and Twitter officials, said the U.S. company agreed to appoint a country representative to engage with Nigerian authorities and comply with local tax obligations.
