Twitter shuts down militant group's account

folarin okunola

July 4, 2016 2:07 PM

Usually, the group gives details of their activities via its website, or its Twitter account @NDAVengers but today, Monday, July 4, 2016, the group's Twitter accounted has been suspended.

Niger Delta Avengers

Every day for the thief, one day for the owner, the popular saying goes. It seems like

The group has been responsible for a spate of attacks on gas and oil pipeline installations in the Niger Delta over the past few months. Between Friday, July 1 and Sunday, July 3, 2016, the group blew five pipelines.

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Usually, the group gives details of their activities via its website, or its Twitter account @NDAVengers but today, Monday, July 4, 2016, the group's Twitter accounted has been suspended.

If you try to visit the group's Twitter profile, you will be faced with a message reading, “Account suspended. This account has been suspended. Learn more about why Twitter suspends accounts, or return to your timeline.”

This would fit perfectly in-line with Twitter's new drive to tackle terrorist and insurgent propaganda on its platform as it continues to tackle its stagnated user growth rate.

For the Niger Delta Avengers, this will not be the first time one of its information points will be shut down. Back in June, the group's website was shut down for unknown reasons. Less than 24 hours after that, the group launched a new one claiming that the site that went down was due to "maintenance".

That website never came back up, and the group has continued to use the new website, perhaps awaiting the completion of maintenance work on the old one.

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Over the past few weeks, the Federal Government and the Nigeria Army has reiterated its desire to work with the militant group; with the Buhari-led administration hoping for some goodwill with a very publicised flag-off of the "clean-up" of Ogoniland, which makes up most of the Niger Delta region.

While the Twitter handle of the Niger Delta Avengers may be suspended right now, its website still functions. Maybe the government should take the negotiations there instead. Or not.

folarin okunola