Five things Nigeria says Twitter agreed to before lifting ban

Nigeria Wednesday lifted the suspension of the Twitter operation in the country after reaching agreements.

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, who headed a Nigeria committee that interfaced with Twitter, said in a statement that Buhari approved the restoration of Twitter in a memo written to communications and digital economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim.

Twitter has since been restored in Nigeria with citizens continuing usage of the microblogging platform without the aid of a Virtual Personal Network (VPN).

Abdullahi said there were agreements reached between the two parties before the suspension was lifted. Here are the five agreements he listed in his statement.

Nigerian office in the first quarter of 2022
According to Abdullah, Twitter will establish a legal presence in the West African country and register with the Corporate Affairs Commission in the first quarter of 2022. “The establishment of the entity is Twitter’s first step in demonstrating its long-term commitment to Nigeria,” he said.

Appointment of a country representative
The Nigerian government official disclosed that Twitter agreed to appoint a designated country representative to interface with Nigerian authorities.

He said a Global Public Policy team is available to interface with Twitter through a dedicated communication channel.

Compliance with applicable tax obligations
Twitter must now comply with Nigeria’s applicable tax obligations as other legal entities in the country according to revenue generated while running a business in Nigeria.

Nigeria to have access to manage ‘prohibited’ content
Abdullahi said Twitter has agreed to enrol Nigeria in its Partner Support and Law Enforcement Portals which “provides a direct channel for government officials and Twitter staff to manage prohibited content that violates Twitter community rules.”

Nigeria’s enrolment in the Twitter portal will also provide a channel for the “law enforcement agencies to submit a report with a legal justification where it suspects that content violates Nigerian Laws”, Abdullahi said.

Respect for Nigerian laws and the national culture and history
Twitter activities in Nigeria will be in a “respectful acknowledgement” of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built and work with the Federal Government of Nigeria and the broader industry to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries.