President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered immediately lifting of a prolonged suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, an official said on Wednesday.

The decision was announced by the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, on Wednesday evening.

It came 222 days after the regime banned the crucial social media network in Nigeria, disrupting citizens’ communications and businesses.

The regime initially insisted that the social media giant must register as a business and open an office in Nigeria, a demand that was rejected by Twitter. It was not immediately clear why the government backed down, with Mr Abdullahi saying the president only acted on a recommendation to lift the suspension.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) directs me to inform the public that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the lifting of the suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria effective from 12am tonight, 13th January 2022.

“The approval was given following a memo written to the President by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim.

“In the Memo, the Minister updated and requested the President’s approval for the lifting based on the Technical Committee Nigeria-Twitter Engagement’s recommendation,” the NITDA statement said in full.