Nigeria
How a man from Peckham caused Nigeria to shut down Twitter
Supporters see him a returning liberation hero, who revived a long-lost dream of African nationhood from his flat in faraway south London. Critics see him as a dangerous insurgent who belongs behind bars.
Like him or loathe him, though few would disagree that Nnamdi Kanu has come a long way since his days running Radio Free Biafra from a council flat in Peckham.
The 52-year-old, who leads the campaign to revive the former breakaway state of Biafra, was the catalyst for President Muhammadu Buhari’s extraordinary decision two weeks ago to ban Nigeria’s 200 million people from using Twitter.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari – AFP
That in turn has sparked a global row over freedom of speech, dragging in everyone from Silicon Valley’s tech giants through to ex-US president Donald Trump – not to mention Nigeria’s millions of Twitter users.
Mr Kanu, who also holds British citizenship, started Radio Free Biafra while living in London a decade ago. The web-based pirate radio station campaigns to recreate the short-lived republic of Biafra, which broke away from the rest of Nigeria in 1967, sparking a civil war that claimed a million lives.
He returned to Nigeria in 2015, where he then skipped bail on what he claims were trumped-up treason charges. Now a fugitive, he leads the banned separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), whose armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, has been accused of attacking Nigerian security forces.
He regards multi-ethnic Nigeria as a “zoo”, declaring: “We want a free and independent Biafra or death.”
Such shock-jock rhetoric has infuriated Mr Buhari, a stern former general who fought on the government side in the Biafran war. On June 2, the president Tweeted a blunt warning to the separatists, saying: “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
To Mr Buhari’s fury, Twitter then deleted his post, saying violated its “abusive behaviour” policy. Two days later, the president banned Twitter from Nigeria altogether, sparking protests from his own citizens and freedom campaigners worldwide.
Defending the decision, Mr Buhari insisted that Mr Kanu has used his own Twitter, which has 300,000 followers, “to direct his loyalists to kill Nigerian soldiers and policemen.”
The government blames IPOB’s armed wing for a rising tide of lawlessness in recent months around its stronghold in the former Biafra region of south-east Nigeria. Police officers have been killed, government buildings attacked, and in April, more than 1,800 prisoners escaped during a mass jailbreak in the city of Owerri.
A day after Mr Buhari announced the Twitter ban, the platform also deleted a Tweet from Mr Kanu’s account. It said: “Any army they send to #Biafraland will die there. None will return alive.” Mr Kanu was also banned from Facebook in February after posting a video alleged to show a pro-Biafran militia group killing cattle belonging to Fulani herders
Mr Buhari’s ban on Twitter won praise from Donald Trump, who himself was kicked off Twitter over claims that his posts helped incite the US Capitol riot in January.
“Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their president,” he said.
Critics, however, claim that Mr Buhari has over-reacted with the Twitter ban, censoring a social media tool used by 40 million Nigerians, as well as many businesses for advertising.
They claim the real reason for the ban was Twitter’s role in the #EndSARS police brutality protests, which saw huge street demonstrations last year over abuses committed by Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, encouraged donations to one of the leading groups of organisers.
Mr Buhari argues that the California tech moguls do not have to deal with the consequences of such protests, which saw a heavy police response.
“We have not forgotten that #EndSARS resulted in the loss of lives, including those of 37 policemen, six soldiers and 57 civilians, while properties worth billions of Naira were destroyed,” his spokesman said.
With Boko Haram still running amok in Nigeria’s north-east, and a spate of banditry and mass kidnappings in the north-east, government officials say they can ill-afford to tolerate Mr Kanu stirring another armed insurgency in Biafra.
Nonetheless, many Nigerians point out that compared to the security threats in Nigeria’s north, which have claimed thousands of lives, Mr Kanu and IPOB are small scale.
Andrew Obuoforibo, a Nigerian political analyst and podcaster, told The Telegraph: “Buhari gives other more violent groups far less attention than Kanu and IPOB. I think he’s just using Kanu as an excuse to ban Twitter because of Jack Dorsey donating money to the #endSARS protest.
“If Mark Zuckerberg had donated money too, then Facebook might be banned in Nigeria as well.”
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Militants, alongside relatives of victims of the infamous abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls that sparked global outrage in 2014, gathered in Lagos on Sunday, April 14, to renew calls for the release of the remaining girls in captivity.
The Sunday meeting was organized to mark the 10th anniversary of the abduction that affected 276 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.
“What I would ask the government is to find a way to work towards bringing back our sisters because I know it is only the government that can help us bring back these girls,” said Grace Dauda, a rescued Chibok schoolgirl.
Another rescued schoolgirl, Rebecca Malu, added, “They should stay safe. They should stay strong, one day, they will be released like us.”
While some girls managed to escape on their own, others have been freed over the years through intense campaigns by civil society organizations and government negotiations. But this human rights activist, Ayo Obe, is calling for more action from the authorities.
“We know that we started with missing persons numbering two hundred and fifty-six; it is already an improvement that we are down to 91. But of course, 91 is 91 lives unaccounted for. We appreciate the fact that so many of them escaped during the abduction itself. We appreciate the fact that the government has brought back so many more of them, but we say that we don’t stop here. We need the momentum that has happened since the mass return during the Buhari administration in 2016-2017 to be maintained. We expected that the remaining girls would have been brought back,” she said.
Mass school children kidnapping in Nigeria has continued nearly unabated since Chibok. Around 1,700 students have been kidnapped in raids since 2014 according to Amnesty International.
A member of the Bring Back Our Girls movement and convener of the 10th-year anniversary in Lagos, Opeyemi Adamolekun, lamented this as unfortunate.
“Unfortunately, it became political between 2014 and 2015, part of the amplification of the movement was part of the 2015 presidential campaign. And we saw the effect of the first batch of 21 that were released with the help of the Red Cross and the Swiss government. The second batch of 82 that were released with the help of the Red Cross and the Swiss government as well. But unfortunately, it seems that energy sort of dissipated because the government doesn’t feel as much pressure as they used to feel,” she said.
For this group of Nigerians, the government must match words with more action to stem the tide of mass school kidnappings in the country.
According to the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, a charity that advocates for the Chibok schoolgirls, about 90 girls still remain in captivity while dozens of the schoolgirls freed over the years are living inside a military-run rehabilitation camp with surrendered Boko Haram fighters they married in the Sambisa forest, Boko Haram’s main hideout.
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Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has taken action against private jet operators flouting regulations by suspending the Permit for Non-Commercial Flights (PNCF) of three operators caught conducting commercial flights.
This crackdown follows warnings issued in March 2024.
Acting Director General Capt. Chris Najomo stated that increased surveillance at Nigerian airports led to the grounding of three operators found violating their PNCF terms. Specifically, they breached annexure provisions and Part 9114 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations 2023.
In response, the NCAA announced a thorough re-evaluation of all PNCF holders to ensure compliance with regulations, to be completed by April 19th, 2024. PNCF holders have been instructed to submit necessary documents within 72 hours to expedite the process. Najomo emphasized these actions highlight the NCAA’s commitment to enhancing safety in Nigerian airspace.
Furthermore, the NCAA warned the public against using charter operators without a valid Air Operators Certificate and urged legitimate industry players to report any suspicious activities promptly.
This crackdown comes after the NCAA’s stern warning in March against PNCF holders engaging in commercial operations.
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Senator Cory also met women entrepreneurs from the Academy for Women Alumnae Association
Last week, US Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey led a congressional delegation to Nigeria, which included House of Representatives members Sara Jacobs and Barbara Lee from California. The purpose of the visit was to discuss a partnership on sustainable development. During the talks, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu expressed his administration’s dedication to strengthening democracy through upholding the rule of law and ensuring good governance, justice, and fairness for all citizens. Senator Booker emphasized the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, and commitment to peace and good governance that bind Nigeria and the United States as partners.
The delegation also met with women entrepreneurs from the Academy for Women Alumnae Association, who had participated in US-sponsored exchange programs. Led by Adebisi Odeleye of Moore Organics, the businesswomen shared their experiences and discussed their entrepreneurial endeavors. Other Academy members were Mandela Washington Fellow, Nkem Okocha of Mama Moni, Inemesit Dike of LegalX, and Mercy Ogori of Kokomi.
The partnership between the United States and Nigeria has lasted over six decades, focusing on addressing security challenges, enhancing health security, and responding to global health crises. Despite obstacles like corruption, poverty, and insecurity, the US remains dedicated to supporting Nigerian institutions and promoting free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections.
During the visit to the State House, Senator Booker reiterated the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, and commitment to peace and good governance that unite Nigeria and the United States as partners.
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