Twitter ban: Bolt, Konga suspend online support for customers

Some businesses, on Monday, suspended their customer support on Twitter following a ban placed on the micro-blogging platform.

On Friday, the federal government announced the suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria.

Lai Mohammed, the minister of information, who announced the “indefinite” suspension, cited persistent use of the platform for activities capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

Some of these businesses that have complied with restriction include financial institutions, startups, e-commerce platforms, consulting firms.

In an email note to customers, Konga, an e-commerce firm, informed customers on Monday that its Twitter channel would not be available to assist requests due to the suspension.

“Due to the temporary ban on Twitter in Nigeria, we won’t be available to support you via Twitter until the ban is lifted,” the company said.

“For help and support, please reach out to our Customer Experience Team using any of these (other) channels.”

“As a result, we are pausing Twitter support for now,” Rise Capital informed investors in an email note on Monday.

“While we await for the ban on Twitter to be lifted, we will be unable to assist you via Twitter,” Carbon, an investment company, said.

OPay Digital Services Limited also sent a mobile application update to customers stating the unavailability of its Twitter channel.

Bolt, a ride-hailing app, also informed customers of the latest Twitter suspension and the impact on its support service within the period.

“Due to the temporary ban on Twitter in Nigeria, we cannot offer you support through our Twitter account,” the message reads.

“Our dedicated support and high priority teams will continue to be on hand to provide 24/7 support through channels.”

Checks by TheCable also showed that financial institutions are pending open communications on Twitter for their customers. Specifically, financial institutions like Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), Fidelity Bank, FCMB, Sterling Bank, Wema Bank, and Polaris Bank Limited had not tweeted since last Friday.

NetBlocks, a data-driven online service, estimated the economic cost of internet disruptions on its cost of shutdown tool (COST) platform, said Nigeria posed to lose N2.18 billion per day for blocking the operations of Twitter.

TheCable had also analysed how the impact of the suspension will have a ripple effect on the ailing Nigerian economy and impact sources of income to millions of young Nigerians.

Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, told some envoys on Monday that Twitter’s operations in Nigeria will be restored only if the platform can be used “responsibly.”