The Nigerian government imposed an indefinite ban on the use of Twitter, a move reported to be a response to the platform removing a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari against secessionists in the nation.

In a series of tweets, the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture of Nigeria said officials moved to suspend access to Twitter on Friday (4 June).

It cited use of the platform to undermine “Nigeria’s corporate existence” as a factor in the block.

The government also ordered Nigeria’s National Broadcasting Commission to start a process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in the African nation.

Twitter expressed concerns about the ban, stating it will work to restore services because access to a free and open internet is “an essential human right in modern society”.

Nigerian operators complied with the order on 5 June, Reuters reported.

Nigeria’s move came two days after the platform took down a post by Buhari in which he pledged to take punitive action against groups accused of attacks against several government bodies and security groups in the country, The Guardian reported.