Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Onyeama Denies Giving Conditions For Lifting Twitter Ban

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama has denied giving conditions for lifting Twitter’s indefinite suspension.

At a meeting between the minister and envoys of the US, UK, Ireland, Canada and the European Union, Mr Onyeama had said “Twitter’s operations in Nigeria will be restored only if the platform can be used responsibly”.

But Ferdinand Nwonye, the spokesperson for the ministry said the “Minister has been quoted out of context.”

In a statement released on Monday shortly after the meeting to clarify the Minister’s comments, he said, “contrary to the publications, the Honourable Minister was speaking generally about the responsibilities that go with freedom of speech, stating that platforms that have the power to instantly disseminate information among billions of people have the added responsibility to exercise that power responsibly.

“The Ministry wishes to state categorically that the Honourable Minister did not give any conditions regarding lifting the Twitter suspension.”

By Abel Ejikeme

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