Trump commends Nigeria for banning Twitter

A former United States President, Donald Trump, on Tuesday applauded the Nigerian government for banning Twitter, calling on other countries to follow suit.

“Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their President. More COUNTRIES should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech — all voices should be heard,” Mr Trump said in a statement on his website.

“In the meantime, competitors will emerge and take hold. Who are they to dictate good and evil if they themselves are evil? Perhaps I should have done it while I was President. But Zuckerberg kept calling me and coming to the White House for dinner telling me how great I was. 2024?”

Mr Trump, an avid Twitter user who drew huge controversies before he was banned from accessing the social media accounts, made this statement days after he was suspended by Facebook for two years.

Mr Trump’s Twitter account was in January suspended over claims that he had used the platform to incite his followers to invade the Capitol, sparking a riot that led to the death of at least four persons.

Other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram also suspended Mr Trump’s accounts indefinitely on similar grounds, before a panel reduced the suspension to two years.