The Nigerian government says more than 13.5 million social media accounts have been deactivated and nearly 59 million posts removed for allegedly violating the country’s online code of practice.
The action, announced Wednesday by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), affected users of TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Tech giants including Microsoft, Google, Meta, TikTok, and X carried out the enforcement.
NITDA spokesperson Hadiza Umar said 13,597,057 accounts were shut down, while 58,909,112 pieces of “offensive content” were taken down. She added that about 420,000 posts were restored after appeals by users. Umar described the move as a “significant step” toward creating a safer digital space in Nigeria.
The 2022 code of practice—jointly issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NITDA, and the National Broadcasting Commission—requires major platforms to register locally, comply with takedown requests within 48 hours, and provide user data to authorities when ordered by a court. It also compels platforms to remove unlawful content such as cybercrime material, revenge porn, deepfakes, and child sexual abuse content.
Umar said the compliance reports from the companies demonstrate “commitment to ensuring a secure and trustworthy online environment,” while urging continued collaboration between government, civil society, and industry to strengthen user protections and digital literacy.
