Telecommunications companies in the country have started acting on the directive of the Federal Government by blocking access to Twitter services in the country.
NaijaNewsNow reports that the Federal Government on Friday ordered the indefinite suspension of Twitter operations in the country on claims that its operations were being used for subversive purposes.
Findings on Saturday morning showed that telecommunications companies in Nigeria, including MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile have started blocking access to the site.
The telcos said they received a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to block access to Twitter in the country following the suspension by the Federal Government on Friday.
The Mobile network operators under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) disclosed this in a statement on Saturday jointly signed by its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo and Executive Secretary, Gbolahan Awonuga.
The statement read: “We, The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria wish to confirm that our members have received formal instructions from the Nigerian Communications Commission, the industry regulator to suspend access to Twitter.
“ALTON has conducted a robust assessment of the directive in accordance with internationally accepted principles.
“Based on national interest provisions in the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and within the licence terms under which the industry operates; our members have acted in compliance with the directives of the Nigerian Communications Commission, the industry regulator.
“We will continue to engage all the relevant authorities and stakeholders and will act as may be further directed by the NCC. We remain committed to supporting the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and upholding the rights of citizens.
“As an industry, we endorse the position of the United Nations that the rights held by people offline must also be protected online. This includes respecting and protecting the rights of all people to communicate, to share information freely and responsibly, and to enjoy privacy and security regarding their data and their use of digital communications.”
