Twitter deletes Buhari's post that recalled Nigeria Civil War

Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari has earned the title of the first African leader to have his post on Twitter removed.

The social networking app said it had removed Buhari's June 1 tweet because it violated their policy.

The deleted tweet read as follows: "Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occured during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand."

Nigerians who saw the tweet as one threatening violence on a particular ethnic group, the Igbos located in the south east, widely reported the tweet citing the violence that it 'promised.'

South eastern Nigeria has been very volatile in recent weeks with sustained attacks on members of the security forces and on electoral offices in some states.

Buhari yesterday received security briefings and reports of the destruction following which he made the said comments which were subsequently posted on his official Twitter account.

“Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.” - President @MBuhari pic.twitter.com/PmezmdZSvW

— Saleh Shehu ASHAKA (@AshakaSaleh) June 2, 2021