Lai Mohammed: Twitter Suspension Not About Buhari’s Deleted Handle

Lai Mohammed: Twitter Suspension Not About Buhari’s Deleted Handle

Abuja, Nigeria — Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has revealed that the 2021 suspension of Twitter (now X) in Nigeria was one of the most challenging decisions he faced while in office, citing national security concerns as the primary reason for the action.

In his newly launched book, “Headlines & Soundbites: Media Moments That Defined An Administration”, Mohammed dedicated Chapter 14, titled “Silencing the bird: The story of Nigeria’s Twitter suspension”, to detailing the decision-making process that led to the indefinite suspension of the platform in June 2021.

Mohammed highlighted two factors that made the decision particularly difficult: the impact on Nigerians who relied on Twitter for business promotion and social influence, and the potential perception that the government was restricting freedom of expression and curbing democratic space. Despite these concerns, he argued that threats to national security outweighed other considerations.

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“The condemnations were fast and furious,” Mohammed wrote, noting that many Twitter users expressed anger via the official Federal Ministry of Information and Culture handle (@FMINONigeria). He also clarified that the suspension was not a reaction to the deletion of the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s Twitter handle, explaining that the timing was coincidental and shaped domestic and international perceptions.

Mohammed criticized Twitter for what he described as double standards, citing its failure to remove inciting tweets by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), while promptly deleting the President’s post. He also stressed that the government had long warned social media platforms against facilitating the spread of fake news, disinformation, and hate speech, especially during the #EndSARS protests of October 2020, when unverified content contributed to violence.

According to Mohammed, President Buhari personally approved the suspension after confirming that the government had the capacity to block the platform and that the decision was not retaliation for deleted tweets.

The federal government eventually lifted the 222-day suspension on January 12, 2022, restoring access to Twitter across Nigeria.

Lai Mohammed: Twitter Suspension Not About Buhari’s Deleted Handle

The Cable