Saturday, August 1, 2026

Malami violates Buhari Twitter ban, deploys VPN to deactivate account

This action by qualifies Mr Malami for arrest and prosecution, going by his directive.

• June 8, 2021
Malami and screenshot
A photo of Malami and screenshot used to illustrate the story

Attorney-General Abubakar Malami has violated President Muhammadu Buhari’s  ban on Twitter in Nigeria.

Mr Malami was caught using virtual private network (VPN) to bypass Buhari regime’s access restriction to login in to the micro-blogging site on Tuesday.

He gleefully announced the deactivation of his Twitter account on Facebook not minding that he has broken an order laid by his principal.

The Nigerian government last week Friday banned Twitter, blocking citizens’ access to the micro-blogging platform after Mr Buhari’s tweet, deemed a threat to commit genocide in the fashion of the civil war genocide against the South-East people was deleted by Twitter.

On Saturday afternoon, Mr Malami doubled down on government’s action by issuing a directive for the prosecution of Nigerians seen bypassing the government’s order. 

Peoples Gazette, however, observed that Mr Malami deactivated his account on Tuesday, an action that requires one to first login to the micro-blogging site to do. 

This action qualifies Mr Malami for arrest and prosecution, going by his directive.

Since the declaration of Twitter ban, Nigerians have condemned the action as draconian and illegal.

Many citizens continue to defy the government to use the micro-blogging platform. 

Many activists and foreign missions in Nigeria say Twitter ban is an attack on the freedom of expression in Nigeria by the Buhari regime.

Before now, the Buhari-led government has been scheming to gag the free speech through an obnoxious social media Bill which continues to encounter pushbacks from Nigerians.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

States

Edo rearrests couple over alleged child abuse

The commissioner said the victim had been placed under protective care.

President Bola Tinubu with a delegation from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, on Friday at the State House, Abuja.

Hot news Home top

Tinubu hails move as Gavi commits $500 million to Nigeria’s immunisation programme in next five years

Mr Tinubu expressed appreciation to Gavi for its commitment to improving healthcare outcomes and supporting vaccine access in Nigeria.

Naira and Dollar

Heading 2

Naira ends July weaker at official market, closes at N1,368.22 per dollar

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the local currency depreciated by N1.49, or 0.1 per cent, from N1,366.72 per dollar recorded on Thursday.

Ezekiel Nathaniel in Glasgow

Sport

Commonwealth Games: Nathaniel strikes gold in men’s 400m hurdles, Onwuzurike clinches 200m silver 

Nathaniel’s victory marked Nigeria’s first gold medal in a track event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Heading 5

Troops foil abduction attempt in Borno, rescue 31 passengers, recover four vehicles

The operation spokesperson added that the rescued victims and recovered vehicles were subsequently escorted to Buratai.

Rev. Fr. Samuel Opeyemi

Heading 5

Gov Ododo condemns killing of Kogi Catholic priest Samuel Opeyemi 

The governor described the incident as a heinous and unacceptable act.Â