Nigerians breaking Twitter ban rules could be prosecuted

Abuja’s chief legal officer orders prosecution of anyone who refuses to follow the government’s block on social network.

Nigeria’s Attorney General Abubakar Malami has ordered the immediate prosecution of those who try to circumvent the government’s Twitter ban after all mobile operators in the country were ordered to suspend access to the social media giant. There were no further details about the prosecution and who would be targeted, but many Nigerians took to social media to criticise Saturday’s announcement. Earlier in the day, telecoms operators in Nigeria said they had complied with a government directive to suspend access to Twitter, two days after the social network deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari’s account for violating its rules.