Mobile telecommunications companies in Nigeria including MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile have officially blocked subscribers from accessing the microblogging platform, Twitter.

The telcos confirmed that they received a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission to bar all access to the social media platform following its suspension by the Federal Government on Friday.

WuzupNigeria gathered that Nigerians found it difficult to log on to the platform on Saturday, forcing many to opt for other means thereby using virtual private networks.

This comes after the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had accused Twitter of double standards, while also citing the “persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

The PUNCH reported that mobile network operators in the country under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria have made it clear that they have started blocking access to Twitter in a statement issued on Saturday.

The statement which was titled, ‘Order to Suspend access to Twitter’. It was jointly signed by ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo; and ALTON Executive Secretary, Gbolahan Awonuga.

It read, “We, The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria wish to confirm that our members have received formal instructions from the Nigerian Communications Commission, the industry regulator to suspend access to Twitter.

“ALTON has conducted a robust assessment of the directive in accordance with internationally accepted principles.

“Based on national interest provisions in the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and within the license terms under which the industry operates; our members have acted in compliance with the directives of the Nigerian Communications Commission, the industry regulator”.

“We will continue to engage all the relevant authorities and stakeholders and will act as may be further directed by the NCC. We remain committed to supporting the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and upholding the rights of citizens”.

“As an industry, we endorse the position of the United Nations that the rights held by people offline must also be protected online. This includes respecting and protecting the rights of all people to communicate, to share information freely and responsibly, and to enjoy privacy and security regarding their data and their use of digital communications.”

Aside from MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile, some of the Internet Service Providers in Nigeria include Spectranet, ipNX Nigeria Limited, Swift Networks Ltd., Vezeti Service LTD, Cyberspace Network Limited, Mobitel Limited, Smile Nigeria, ITClick Solutions Limited and Netcom Africa.