The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has said it has no intention of banning any social media platform again but that it would not sit and allow any of the platforms to be used to destabilise the country.
This was made known by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
In view of the new ownership of the microblogging platform, Twitter, by American billionaire, Elon Musk, the minister reportedly said the government is monitoring the platform closely under the new ownership.
He said, “We have no intention of banning any social media platform again. But we will also not sit by and allow any platform whatsoever to throw our nation into crisis.
“Let me say this, We are closely monitoring the evolving developments at Twitter. It has never been our intention to ban any social media platform or stifle free speech. Not at all.
“Many have called to ask us what will become of our agreement with Twitter in view of the change in its ownership and they have also asked for our reaction following reports that there has been a spike in fake news, disinformation and hate speech since the micro-blogging site changed ownership.
“We have also been asked if there is going to be another ban.
“What happened in the case of Twitter is well known to all. Twitter became a platform of choice for those who want to destabilise Nigeria, using fake news, disinformation and hate speech.
“No nation will allow any social media platform to plunge it into anarchy. Definitely not Nigeria.
“But we have continued to engage positively with the different social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter,” he added.
Recall that the Federal Government had in 2021 banned the social media platform, claiming it was being used as a medium to spread fake news and hate speech in an attempt to destabilise the country’s unity.
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