The suspension of twitter came two days after the social media giant deleted a tweet from President Buhari’s account for violating its rules.
Telecoms operators in Nigeria have restricted access to Twitter, a day after the government announced its indefinite suspension for activities “capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
The Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) confirmed its members had received formal instructions from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator, to suspend access to Twitter.
It said in a statement that a robust assessment of the request had been made and that members had “acted in compliance”.
“Network data show that access to the Twitter platform and backend servers is now restricted on leading networks MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile,” the London-based internet monitor Netblocks wrote on its website on Saturday
The news prompted a negative response among social media users, as well as among human rights activists.
Aisha Yesufu, a Nigerian political activist and co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls, an online campaign that played a key role in raising awareness over the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in 2014, said the government has long been looking for a chance to close the platform where people highlighted its faults.
“Twitter has been the voice of the people in Nigeria … It is actually where we held the government accountable,” Yesufu told Al Jazeera.