No plan by FG to ban Twitter, other social media handles, says Mohammed

The Federal Government claims it has no plans to outlaw any social media sites, but it will not tolerate any tactics that can destabilize the nation.

Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, made this statement on Thursday when presenting the performance evaluation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration from 2015 to 2022.

The minister mentioned that the Federal Government is keeping an eye on Twitter under Elon Musk’s new ownership at the press briefing in Abuja.

Twitter was banned in Nigeria last year on the grounds that it was used to disseminate fake news and hate speech. However, the decision was reversed in January after the social media site acceded to the government’s demands.

But speaking at the event, Mohammed said, “Permit me to quickly address an issue that has elicited a lot of inquiries from the media in recent times. Many of your colleagues have called to ask us what will become of our agreement with Twitter in view of the change in its ownership,” the minister explained.

“Many have asked for our reaction following reports that there has been a spike in fake news, disinformation, and hate speech since the micro-blogging site changed ownership.

“Many have even asked us if another ban is in the offing. Let me say this: We are closely monitoring the evolving developments at Twitter. It has never been our intention to ban any social media platform or stifle free speech. Not at all. What happened in the case of Twitter is well-known to all.

“Twitter became a platform of choice for those who want to destabilize Nigeria using fake news, disinformation, and hate speech. No nation will allow any social media platform to plunge it into anarchy. Definitely not Nigeria.

“But we have continued to engage positively with the different social media platforms, including Facebook, Google (owners of YouTube), and Twitter. We have no intention of banning any social media platform again. But we will also not sit by and allow any platform whatsoever to throw our nation into crisis.”