Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, sets out the criteria that the government is putting in order for Twitter to be reintroduced in the nation.
The decision to ban the site on Friday, just days after Twitter deleted a statement from President Muhammadu Buhari, has already sparked an international uproar over free speech and demands for demonstrations both online and in the streets.
Nigeria’s media and activists are concerned that their country is falling toward authoritarianism after the government blocked Twitter in Africa’s most populous country, where hyper-connected youth embraced the platform as a method of protest.
According to Lagos-based researcher NOI Polls, more than 120 million Nigerians have internet access, and approximately 40 million of them have a Twitter account – 20 percent of the population.
In comparison, France has just eight million Twitter users.
According to Manon Fouriscot, co-founder of the Afrique Connectees consultancy, Nigeria’s statistics are explained in part by its big and young population, but also by the impact of its diaspora and the online popularity of its film and Afropop artists.
Last October, the #EndSARS protest movement erupted on Twitter in response to violence by the country’s SARS – or Special Anti-Robbery Squad – police force, and quickly grew into a push for greater change.
#EndSARS was the most shared hashtag in the world for two days, backed by Afropop celebrities with millions of followers and then repeated by key worldwide influencers.
The ensuing demonstrations were the biggest in modern Nigerian history, prompting concerns of further instability before security forces clamped down on protestors.
Some Nigerian broadcasters are afraid that the action against Twitter is part of a broader media crackdown.
