Nigerians Lose N150.46bn In Two Months of Twitter Ban

File Photo: Twitter Logo

Since the Federal Government announced the ban on Twitter, on June 5, the Nigeria businesses have apparently lost N150.46bn to that effect.

According to NetBlocks, a global internet monitor working at the intersection of digital rights; Nigeria may have lost N150.46bn in the course of 61 days counting from the start of the ban in the country.

The amount was calculated based on the NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool. Conferring to the tool, it costs Nigeria’s economy N102.77m ($250,600) every hour to ban Twitter.

The NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool estimates the economic impact of an internet disruption, mobile data blackout or app restriction in a nation using indicators from the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, Eurostat and U.S. Census.

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Following the directives of the Federal government on June 4, the telecommunication companies commenced blocking access to Twitter on June 5 and since then, few Nigerians have taken to fate as they look other routes.

As announced by the Federal Government, the platform – Twitter is promoting vices and activities capable of “undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”, thereby due for suspension.

Research shows that 33 million active social media users exist in Nigeria with approximately 26 percent active Twitter’s accounts.

The twitter ban has led to many Nigerians using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to access the social media platform.