The decision was announced by the Director-General of the
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa
Abdullahi, on Wednesday evening.
It came 222 days after the regime banned the crucial social
media network in Nigeria, disrupting citizens’ communications and businesses.
The regime initially insisted that the social media giant
must register as a business and open an office in Nigeria, a demand that was
rejected by Twitter. It was not immediately clear why the government backed
down, with Mr Abdullahi saying the president only acted on a recommendation to
lift the suspension.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) directs me to
inform the public that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the
lifting of the suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria effective from 12am
tonight, 13th January 2022.
“The approval was given following a memo written to the
President by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy,
Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim.
“In the Memo, the Minister updated and requested the
President’s approval for the lifting based on the Technical Committee
Nigeria-Twitter Engagement’s recommendation,” the NITDA statement said in full.