Digital Authoritarianism and Internet Governance in Nigeria: An Analysis of the Twitter Ban

This study analyses the suspension of Twitter's operations in Nigeria from June to December 2021 as a case study of digital authoritarianism and examines the broader implications for internet governance policy, freedom of expression, and the regulation of global social media platforms in the Nigerian context. The Twitter ban, ordered by the Buhari administration following the platform's deletion of a presidential tweet, became a major international incident illustrating the tensions between state sovereignty, corporate platform governance, and digital rights. Using a mixed-methods design, the study draws on government policy statements, Twitter's regulatory engagement documentation, legal proceedings by civil society organisations against the ban, economic impact assessments, and survey data on citizens' use of virtual private networks to circumvent the ban. The digital authoritarianism framework and the internet governance theory are applied to analyse the power dynamics between the Nigerian state and global platform corporations. Findings reveal that the Twitter ban was not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of Nigerian government attempts to assert regulatory control over digital platforms during political crises, including previous social media restrictions during the EndSARS protests. The ban had significant economic costs, disrupting digital businesses dependent on Twitter for customer engagement, while failing to achieve its stated political objective of compelling platform compliance with government demands. Citizens' widespread adoption of virtual private networks demonstrated the limits of state digital control in a connected society. Recommendations include a comprehensive internet governance law, independent internet regulation authority, and transparent procedures for government content requests to platforms. Keywords: digital authoritarianism, internet governance, Twitter ban, Nigeria, freedom of expression