Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has defended the Federal Government’s decision to suspend Twitter, now known as X, in Nigeria, stating that the action was prompted by what he described as the platform’s reckless conduct and the threat it posed to national security.

Mohammed said the suspension was never intended to silence dissenting opinions but was aimed at addressing the spread of fake news, hate speech and disinformation that he said were capable of undermining national unity and stability.

He made the remarks on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television ahead of the launch of his book, Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration, which documents key communication decisions taken during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, including the controversial 2021 suspension of Twitter.

The former minister said the Federal Government’s engagement with social media platforms over the dangers of misinformation began years before the suspension, noting that concerns over an unregulated digital space were raised as early as 2017.

“I started the campaign against fake news and disinformation in 2017. I knew the dangerous dimension it was taking. An unregulated social media space was becoming a threat to society,” Mohammed said.

He explained that despite repeated warnings from the government, Twitter had increasingly become a platform for individuals and groups seeking to inflame tensions and threaten national cohesion.

“When we suspended Twitter, it was because it was becoming reckless. We warned them several times. Social media had reached a stage where it was becoming dangerous to everybody,” he said.

Mohammed dismissed claims that the suspension was a reaction to the deletion of a tweet by former President Muhammadu Buhari or an attempt to suppress opposition voices, insisting that the decision followed prolonged engagements with the platform.

“The President asked me only one question: do I think a country should do so? And I said yes, based on our discussions and the risks we were seeing,” he said.

He further stated that Twitter was not registered to operate as a business in Nigeria at the time of the suspension, adding that the agreement later signed between the platform and the Federal Government justified the action taken.

“Twitter was not registered in Nigeria to do business. The agreement they later signed with us, which is contained in this book, is evidence that we did the right thing,” Mohammed stated.

The former minister argued that unlike traditional media organisations, which operate with editorial gatekeepers, social media platforms allow unchecked content that can incite violence and deepen divisions within society.

“You must not push freedom to the extent that you set one part of the country against the other. We saw how social media was used to direct attacks on institutions,” he said, referring to court proceedings during the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

Mohammed said Twitter’s operations were restored only after the platform agreed to meet specific government conditions, including local registration and compliance with Nigerian laws.

He added that his book provides an insider’s account of how narratives were shaped during the Buhari administration and explains the rationale behind difficult communication decisions taken at the time.

“This is about documenting history from an insider’s viewpoint — how decisions were made, how misinformation overshadowed facts, and how media was used to shape national narratives,” he said.