The Nigerian government has ordered the immediate prosecution of Nigerians who are still accessing the microblogging platform, Twitter.
The order was given by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami following reports that some Nigerians are still accessing Twitter through a virtual private network (VPN).
Nigeria on Friday imposed an indefinite ban on the operations of Twitter in the country at the head of a row between the government and the and the organization.
Despite the ban, some Nigerians are said to be bypassing the ban imposed by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with a VPN since early Saturday morning, the government’s ban became effective.
In a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr Umar Gwandu, Malami ordered the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, “to swing into action and commence in earnest the process of prosecution of violators of the Federal Government De-activation of operations of Twitter in Nigeria”.
He also further directed the DPPF “to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication, NCC, and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders without any further delay”.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, who announced Twitter’s suspension, noted “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
He further disclosed that the FG had also directed the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, “to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria”.
