Reason why Nigerian presidency temporarily suspends Twitter

Nigerian presidency has released a statement over the removal of President Buhari's post on twitter, speaks on the temporary suspension of twitter in Nigeria. 

It stated that the call to suspend twitter wasn't just a response to the removal of the president's post, but also to the facts that social media platforms in Nigeria has actively promoted misinformation and fake news without being such companies being held accountable .

The presidency stresed that the removal of President Buhari's tweet was disappointing, saying, 

Nevertheless, the removal of President Buhari’s tweet was disappointing. The censoring seemed based on a misunderstanding of the challenges Nigeria faces today. The President in his address at the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA in 2019 said "the world was shocked and startled by the massacre in New Zealand by a lone gunman taking the lives of 50 worshippers.

It stated that such crimes have been fueled by social media networks, adding that major tech companies much be alive in their responsibilities 

They cannot be allowed to continue to facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of many lives. This could tear some countries apart, the president said.

The presidency restated that the call to temporarily suspend twitter in Nigeria not a knee-jerk reaction to the deletion of his tweet which should have been read in full. 

According to the presidency, The tweet was not a threat, but a statement of fact. A terrorist organisation (IPOB) poses a significant threat to the safety and security of Nigerian citizens.

When the President said that they will be treated “in a language they understand,” he merely reiterated that their force shall be met with force. It is a basic principle of security services response world over. This is not promotion of hate, but a pledge to uphold citizens’ right to freedom from harm. The government cannot be expected to capitulate to terrorists.

IPOB is proscribed under Nigerian law. Its members murder innocent Nigerians. They kill policemen and set government property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across the country.

Twitter does not seem to appreciate the national trauma of our country's civil war. This government shall not allow a recurrence of that tragedy.