British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Atkinson, says government must respect rights to freedom of speech.
Atkinson’s comment follows the suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Lai Mohammed, had announced the “indefinite” suspension in a statement issued on Friday by his media aide, Segun Adeyemi.
Quoting the minister, the statement read, “The persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
“The 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.”
But Atkinson said in a tweet that any measure taken by the government must be measured.
“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,” she tweeted.
Twitter’s suspension by the Federal Government comes days after a post by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 1967 civil war was deleted by the microblogging platform.
President Buhari had in a series of posts on Twitter on Tuesday, condemned the attacks on government facilities in the country.
Making a reference to the civil war experience, Buhari had threatened to treat those “bent on destroying” Nigeria “through insurrection” in “a language they understand”.