British deputy high commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Atkinson has stated that the federal government must respect the right of Nigerians to freedom of expression.<\/p>\n
This is coming hours after the federal government suspended Twitter’s operations<\/a><\/strong> in Nigeria.<\/p>\n Lai Mohammed, minister of information, had announced the \u201cindefinite\u201d suspension in a statement issued on Friday by Segun Adeyemi, his spokesman.<\/p>\n According to the statement, the minister cited \u201cthe persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria\u2019s corporate existence\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Minister said the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria,\u201d Adeyemi added.<\/p>\n In a tweet posted after the announcement, Atkinson said any action taken by the government must be measured.<\/p>\n \u201cAll Nigerians<\/a> have the right to freedom of speech and the responsibility not to misuse that right. Any action taken by Government must be measured, proportionate and not supress basic freedoms,\u201d she tweeted.<\/p>\n All Nigerians have the right to freedom of speech and the responsibility not to misuse that right. Any action taken by Government must be measured, proportionate and not supress basic freedoms.<\/p>\n \u2014 Gill Atkinson (@GillAtkinson11)\u00a0June 4, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n