Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says suspending the operations of Twitter in Nigeria was one of the most difficult decisions he took while in office.
Mohammed stated this on Wednesday during an interview on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme.
He explained that the suspension was carried out in the national interest, insisting that the platform had become a tool for actors attempting to destabilise the country.
“One of the multiple and most difficult decisions I took was suspending Twitter’s operation in Nigeria.
“I had to take that decision on national interest, because a time came when Twitter became the platform of choice for all those who are destabilizing the country.
“So there are some decisions like that that you have to take, not because you like them.
“The trigger for that decision was not because late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet was deleted. I went to President Buhari, and I asked him, Sir, we need to suspend the services of Twitter.
“And he asked why? Is it because they deleted my tweet? I said no sir. And I gave him instances and examples.
“You see, I have been an advocate of regulating social media for a very long time. I started by visiting media houses. I started by trying to work with them, but it was clear in my mind that an unregulated social media could be a disaster.
“If you monitored me between 2016 and 2023, I was always on the issue of social media, and I kept saying, I’m not trying to stifle free press, but we must regulate the social media,” he said.
Mohammed has repeatedly defended the Twitter suspension, which lasted seven months, arguing that the action was necessary to address misuse of the platform and safeguard national security.