Twitter has reached out to us for negotiation- Lai Mohammed

The Federal government today June 9, said the management of micro-blogging site, Twitter, has reached out to the Federal government to negotiate following the suspension of its operations in Nigeria.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made the allegation while speaking to state house correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC), held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He alleged that Twitter and other social media service providers, also known as over-the-top (OTT) media service providers, have been cheating Nigeria by way of not paying their due taxes.

According to Lai Mohammed, the federal government has come to the resolution that all OTT service providers that wish to continue operating in Nigeria must be registered as Nigerian companies. He also disclosed that investigations revealed that the Founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, was one of the funders of the #ENDSARS protest in Nigeria in 2020.

According to the Minister, the suspension of Twitter is not in any way stifling the freedom of speech as Nigerians have other platforms they can utilize to express their opinions.

When asked about the law under which Nigerians who violate the Twitter ban would be prosecuted, Lai asked that the question to be directed to the Attorney General of the Federation, and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.