Twitter has responded to the suspension of its operations in Nigeria by the federal government.
The federal government had suspended Twitter’s operations indefinitely, after accusing the micro-blogging site of “undermining Nigeria’s existence.”
In a statement on Friday, Lai Mohammed, minister of information, said the government was forced to act because of “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
However, the social platform is still active within Nigeria.
Expressing great concern about the suspension of its operation in Nigeria, Sarah Hart, Twitter’s senior policy communications manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said the company is investigating the development.
“The announcement made by the Nigerian Government that they have suspended Twitter’s operations in Nigeria is deeply concerning. We’re investigating and will provide updates when we know more,” she told The Cable.
The president on Tuesday had condemned the attacks on government facilities in the country and threatened to treat those responsible in a language they understand.
“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” he had said on the microblogging platform.
The tweet including a video where the president made the genocidal remarks, was promptly deleted for violating twitter rules.
Mohammed had also questioned Twitter’s mission in Nigeria, saying the organisation’s style of operation makes it suspect