Nigeria ‘indefinitely’ suspends Twitter

Nigeria's government said on Friday it was suspending Twitter's operations indefinitely, two days after the social media giant deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari's account for violating its rules. Twitter was still working in Africa's most populous country soon after Friday's statement, which triggered immediate criticism from rights groups and analysts about freedom of expression. The information ministry announced the suspension on its own Twitter account though it gave no details on when the decision would take effect or what form the suspension would take. Buhari in his tweet criticised a segment of people for unrest in the country's southeast. The 78-year-old president, a former general, referred to those "misbehaving" in recent violence in the southeast, where officials blame separatists for attacks on police and election offices. Minister of Information Lai Mohammed on Wednesday accused Twitter of ignoring violent messages from a separatist leader and also referred to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's support for the #EndSARS protests last year in Nigeria against police brutality.