US vs Nigeria: ‘Reverse Twitter ban immediately,’ Biden government tells Buhari
The United States has asked Nigeria to immediately reverse its ban on Twitter adding that it was tantamount to opposing free speech.
Samantha Power, an administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), made this known in a statement on Wednesday.
She said that Twitter has over 40 million users in Nigeria, noting that the embargo placed on the social media platform must be reversed immediately.
“There are nearly 40 million Twitter users in Nigeria, and the country is home to Africa’s largest tech hub,” Power said.
“This suspension is nothing more than state-sanctioned denial of free speech and should be reversed immediately.”
The US Mission in Nigeria had also condemned the ban which was implemented after Twitter deleted a post in which President Muhammadu Buhari threatened to unleash the military on separatists.
The position of the Joe-Biden-led US government contradicts that of its immediate past president, Donald Trump, who commended Nigeria on Tuesday for banning Twitter.
Trump commended Nigeria for the recent action in a statement on Tuesday.
Trump’s statement starts with a “congratulations” to Nigeria for banning Twitter and said “more countries should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech.”
