Nigeria bans twitter after deletion of President’s tweet

According to a news report, Nigerians are unable to access the Twitter service after authorities in Nigeria ordered all mobile network operators to block access to the service on Saturday 5 June, 2021. The move is believed to be after Twitter deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari for breaching the site’s rules. NetBlocks live data and metrics communicated through a tweet, showed that the Twitter service has been restricted for most Nigerians with access to the Twitter platform and backend servers totally shut on the leading networks MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9 Mobile. According to the report some Nigerians have however found a bypass to the restriction by employing VPNs downloaded free from the Internet. Critics of the government’s action say this move stifles freedom of expression which should be protected in both offline and online spheres.