The Nigerian government on Monday told the envoys of United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union that it banned Twitter in Niger to stop its being used as “platforms for destabilisation and facilitation of criminality or encouragement of criminalities.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, had on Monday morning summoned the envoys to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over their rejection of the ban on Twitter operations in the country, describing them as assault on fundamental freedom of speech.
On Friday, when Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture announced the ban on Twitter in Nigeria for alleged undue interference in the country’s internal affairs, it sparked global outrage.
The envoys had issued a joint statement saying they “strongly support the fundamental human right of free expression and access to information as a pillar of democracy in Nigeria as around the world and these rights apply online as well as offline.”
“Banning systems of expression is not the answer. These measures inhibit access to information and commerce at precisely the moment when Nigeria needs to foster inclusive dialogue and expression of opinions, as well as share vital information in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement read.
But at the meeting with the envoys in Abuja, Mr Onyeama said he invited the diplomats in order to clarify issues around the ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria.
According to the Minister, “I felt it’s absolutely right and appropriate to take your comment very seriously and meet with you for us to in our usual friendly way discuss and share opinion with regard to that and clarify certain issues.
“We are not saying that Twitter is threatening the country or any such thing; why we have taken this measure is to stop them to be used as platforms for destabilisation and facilitation of criminality or encouragement of criminalities. We want to use social media for good.”
Speaking on when the ban could be lifted, Onyeama said “the condition (for lifting the ban) would be responsible use of the social media and that really has to be it. Lives matter; Nigerian lives matter and we have to do everything we can to preserve Nigerian lives. When we feel our goals are threatened, actions need to be taken.”