‘State-Sanctioned Denial of Free Speech’: US Tells Nigeria to Reverse Twitter Ban Immediately

The United States of America has once again asked Nigeria’s  President, Muhammadu Buhari, to have a rethink over the banning of Twitter in the country.

The message of the American government calling for the rescission of the bad was conveyed by a top American official and senior diplomat, who is the current administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power.

Power, in a tweet on her verified handle on Wednesday, wrote: “There are nearly 40 million Twitter users in #Nigeria, and the country is home to Africa’s largest tech hub.

“This suspension is nothing more than state-sanctioned denial of free speech and should be reversed immediately. #KeepItOn.”

However, in what seems to be at variance with his home government, former President Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, congratulated Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari for banning the microblogging site, Twitter.

In a statement, titled, ‘Statement by Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States,’ he said, “Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their president.

The former President said: “More countries should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech – all voices should be heard.”

Trump also urged competitors to “emerge and take hold” of the opportunity.

The former President asked: “Who are they to dictate good and evil?”

He said he should have banned the social media websites while he was President, but “Zukerberg kept calling me and coming to White House for dinner telling me how great I was. 2024?”

Trump was banned by Twitter while he was still president.

Michael Olugbode in Abuja