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Nigeria lifts Twitter ban

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KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP or licensors

Nigeria

Seven months after Twitter was made unavailable in Africa's most populous country, Nigerians could access the platform again on Thursday.

The return of Twitter in Nigeria is making the headlines on Thursday. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari went back on its decision to suspend the American firm. According to local sources Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the director-general of the country's National Information Technology Development Agency, announced the lift of the ban on Wednesday evening.

On June, Nigeria halted Twitter operations after the social media took down one of the president’s tweet in which he referred to the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War. Authorities then accused the platform of partiality when it pleaded that tweet went against Twitter Rules

The microblogging site has been a useful tool for young activists last year when they protested against police brutality using the hashtag #EndSARS.

With more than 60% of its population aged below 25 and a dynamic tech scene, the 40 million Nigerians who own a Twitter account will be satisfied with the decision.

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