Nigerian govt gives condition it may ban Facebook

The Nigerian government has said it currently has no plan to ban Facebook in the country.

This comes after the government asked Facebook and other social media platforms to stop allowing the pro-Biafra separatist group (IPOB) to operate on the social media platform.

While receiving a team from Facebook in Abuja on Monday, Information Minister Lai Mohammed said since IPOB had been proscribed and classified as a terrorist organisation by the government, Facebook has no justification for yielding its platform to the organisation.

Speaking with journalists after the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the minister said its meeting with Facebook was robust and promising.

“We had a very robust discussion with Facebook. Facebook saw our point and they said they’re going to do much more than what they are doing,” he said.

“So if they do that, why would we ban them? We don’t ban for banning sake. We ban or we only suspend operations if for any reason, lives are threatened and they do not listen. But this is an engagement.”

He said the posts made by the IPOB supporters do result in the loss of innocent lives.

“Over this weekend in Anambra State policemen were killed, military barracks were attacked. And we did warn Facebook to please do more than what they are doing now. And I must say that their response was quite encouraging. They said they’re going to do much more.”

The Nigerian government on June 4, 2021 suspended Twitter’s operation in Nigeria indefinitely after the microblogging platform deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari which it deemed as inciting violence.

The government later claimed it banned the social media platform for allowing IPOB to propagate divisive and hateful messages.

It however lifted the ban after seven months.