Nigerian broadcasters warned against generating information from suspended Twitter

In a signed statement available to Dennislaw News, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba has urged all broadcasting networks to “de-install Twitter handles and desist from using Twitter as a source (UGC) of information gathering for News and programmes Presentation especially Phone-In”.

This directive implies that media networks in the country would not be allowed to collate citizens’ opinions that delivered through the social network.

The directive follows an announcement from the Ministry of Information and Culture on Friday, 4th June 2021, that the country was suspending all operations of the social network indefinitely, in the country. The Ministry tweeted that this was in response to “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

Twitter had earlier deleted a post published by the Nigerian leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, which had been deemed offensive. The President had referred to the vicious Nigeria-Biafra Civil war which killed close to three million people, suggesting that person’s in the country’s southeast region who are “misbehaving” would be dealt with in the same manner.

In the statement released by NBC this morning, the Director General has cautioned that it would be “unpatriotic” for any broadcasting outlet to refer to Twitter as a source of its information. The NBC is mandated under Nigerian law to “ensure strict adherence to the national laws, rules, and regulations,” the statement added.

Read the full statement below;