Nigeria’s National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has ordered all broadcasters in the country to stop using microblogging platform Twitter.
The move comes after Twitter deleted a Tweet by Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, with the social media giant alleging the post broke its rules.
In a statement issued on Instagram, NBC director general Armstrong Idachaba said broadcasters in Nigeria must deactivate their Twitter handles and stop using the platform as a source of user-generated information gathering for news and programmes presentation, especially phone-ins.
“Section 2(1) r of the NBC Act entrusts the commission with responsibility to ensure strict adherence to the national laws, rules and regulations. Also, Section 3.11.2 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code provides that ‘the broadcaster shall ensure that law enforcement is upheld at all times in a matter depicting that law and order are socially superior to or more desirable than crime and anarchy,’” Idachaba said.
“Attention is also drawn to section 5.6.3 of the code, which requires broadcasters to be mindful of materials that may cause disaffection, incite to panic or rift in the society in the use of a user-generated content. Note that it will be unpatriotic for any broadcaster in Nigeria to continue to patronise the suspended Twitter as a source of its information, therefore strict compliance is enjoined.”