Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture,, critisizes Twitter for deleting a remark on President Buhari’s account after he alluded to the country’s civil war in the context of contemporary instability.
Twitter deleted the comment, stating it had broken regulatory guidelines.
“Twitter may have its own rules, it’s not a universal rule. If Mr. President anywhere in the world feels very bad and concerned of a situation, he is free to express such views” says Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s minister of information and culture.
“When people were burning police stations and killing policemen in Nigeria during #EndSARS, for Twitter it was about the right to protest. But when a similar thing happened on the Capitol, it became insurrection” he added.
Buhari, a former general, issued a remark on Tuesday alluding to recent violence in the southeast, where authorities have accused separatists for assaults on police and polling offices.
Half a century ago, one million people died during a 30-month civil war when separatist generals established an autonomous zone for the Igbo people in Nigeria’s southeast.
He also accused Twitter of ignoring statements from Nnamdi Kanu, head of the illegal Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB separatist group, which he said urged violence.
Mohammed also pointed to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s plea last year for bitcoin contributions to the #EndSARS rallies last year in Nigeria against police brutality
