Micro-blogging site, Twitter, ‘temporarily restricted’ the account of activist Aisha Yesufu for a couple of hours on Thursday.
Yesufu is a co-founder of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) campaign.
The account was restored after several Nigerians with large following on Twitter reacted to the development, urging Twitter to restore Yesufu’s account.
A former minister of education and also BBOG co-founder, Oby Ezekwesili, tweeted in support of Yesufu.
“She does not deserve to be shut down,” Ezekwesili said.
See more tweets with reactions to the restrictions below…
Oby Ezekwesili✔@obyezeksThis is unjust @Twitter and every sensible Nigerian would tell you so. @AishaYesufu is the last person whose Voice should be shut down by Twitter. Do not unwittingly empower those who detest Citizens’ Voice that holds a government @NigeriaGov accountable. That’s all Aisha does.
JJ. Omojuwa✔@OmojuwaDear @Twitter , I don’t know why you placed a restriction on @AishaYesufu ‘s account but if Twitter represents what I think it does, people like Aisha must not have their voices restricted by systems we have come to trust to help democratise power and activism. Lift the gate!
Florence Ozor™@FlorenceOzor
WHO IS AFRAID OF THE TRUTH?
Who is afraid of @AishaYesufu?
WHO IS AFRAID OF ACTIVE CITIZENS?
Who is afraid of @AishaYesufu?
WHO IS AFRAID OF ACCOUNTABILITY?
Who is afraid of @AishaYesufu?
WHO IS AFRAID OF TRANSPARENCY?
WHO FEARS THE TRUTH?
Mere Truth?
RIP Uncle Pius Adesanmi@MKabrik
@AishaYesufu has been at the forefront of fighting for the nameless, voiceless&faceless in Nigeria. She’s been under constant attack&harassment by trolls on twitter whose accounts have not been restricted. Why did @Twitter temporarily suspend her account?
Twitter, however, in a mail sent to Yesufu explained that it restricted the account after its automated systems flagged a series of tweets from Yesufu’s account as spam.
“We apologise for the mixup, and hope to see back on Twitter,” the social media giant wrote to Yesufu.
Yesufu, a vocal critic of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, had been posting a series of tweets criticising the government.
“That I voted for the President in 2015 is not a reason I should not criticise the President,” she wrote. “It shouldn’t not be about personal inclination! It’s about justice!”
A photograph of Arabic scripts was attached to each of the tweets.
“I will continue to be a voice,” Yesufu tweeted after her account was unlocked. “My voice is not for myself alone but for so many others who unfortunately did not get that education that so many of us take for granted to have a voice,” she tweeted.
See Aisha’s tweet announcing that Twitter have removed the restriction…
Aisha Yesufu@AishaYesufuThank you everyone for your voices. I have gotten a mail from @Twitter and I am back. I will continue to be a voice. My voice is not for myself alone but for so many others who unfortunately did not get that education that so many of us take for granted to have a voice.
THANK YOU
Aisha Yesufu@AishaYesufu
