Nigeria's government said Friday it was suspending Twitter indefinitely in Africa's most populous nation, a day after the company deleted a controversial tweet President Muhammadu Buhari made about a secessionist movement. It was not immediately clear when the suspension would go into effect as users could still access Twitter late Friday, and many said they would simply use VPNs to maintain access to the platform.

Others mocked the government for using the platform to announce the action. "You're using Twitter to suspend Twitter? Are you not mad?" one user tweeted in response. Information Minister Lai Mohammed said Friday that government officials took the step because the platform was being used "for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence." Mohammed criticized Twitter for deleting the post. "The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very suspicious," he said, adding that Twitter had in the past ignored "inciting" tweets against the Nigerian government.