Friday- 11th June, 2021: Despite federal government’s ban of Twitter operation in Nigeria, many personalities have continued to use the platform.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on 4th Friday, 2021, given an order for indefinite suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria over what it termed, “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
The condition which someone will say did not go down well many Nigerians, including some top government officials, who have defied the government order and continued using the platform.
Amid the public outcry and criticism that greeted the government’s Twitter suspension, the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, on Saturday ordered the prosecution of violators of the ban.
In spite of the threats from the government, Nigerians had immediately opted for Virtual Private Networks (VPN) in a bid to access the platform, daring the police to arrest them and prosecute them.
VPN, a key path for digital anonymity, has enabled Nigeria to trend in different parts of the world.
Checks by our correspondents showed that some governors and religious leaders who have appealed to the federal government to allow the platform work in Nigeria as it is also a means of job creation for the citizens are still using the platform.
Some Governors who appealed to the government and are still using the platform as a means of communication are; Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.
While the religious leader are, Pastor Adeboye of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor William Kumuyi of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Apostle Suleman Johnson of Omega Fire Ministries International, the Senior Pastor of the Daystar Christian Centre, Lagos, Nigeria, Pastor Sam Adeyemi.
On Monday, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enouch Adeboye, justified his use of Twitter. In a tweet, he stated his church was present across the world.
He wrote, “The Redeemed Christian Church of God is domiciled in more than 170 nations and territories. The tweets here are in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Kumuyi, while also tweeting, said, “In view of the Twitter ban in Nigeria, please note that the content shared on this handle is targeted at a global audience in more than five continents and over 100 nations and we share the content from any of these locations.”
Suleiman, on his part, has been consistently tweeting and retweeting posts and events. His last two posts on Monday were birthday greetings of a junior pastor and his daughter, respectively.
