Twitter, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWTR) has suspended the Twitter account of militant group Niger Delta Avengers, which plotted attacks against the oil production facilities of Nigeria over the past months, on Monday.
The group revealed on its Twitter account that it has successfully carried out five attacks on oil facilities in just two days. Niger Delta Avengers used its Twitter account to inform the public of its violence and criticism against the Nigerian government.
According to a Twitter spokesman, the group’s account has been taken down but the company would not give any further comments on the matter for security purposes.
Meanwhile, Mudoch Agbinibo, Niger Delta Avengers spokesperson, confirmed the takedown in a Facebook post.
Motives of Niger Delta Avengers
Accordingly, Niger Delta Avengers is driven by its desires for Nigeria’s resources to flourish throughout the region of Niger Delta. There was also a time that the militants demanded sovereignty for their region.
It first used the social media platform to unveil to the public that it is responsible for the bombing of Bonny Soku gas export line earlier this year. As of last week, Niger Delta Avengers had already held itself responsible for over 20 attacks since February.
Major oil companies have greatly suffered from the attacks over the past few months. As a result, most employees were forced to relocate to ensure their safety. Leading industry player Shell already acted upon the incidents, shutting down its Forcados Export Terminal for an indefinite period until operations are deemed safe for normal conduct.
Social Media vs. Terrorisms
Over the past year, the entire social media has been dealing with numerous contents of violence, threats, attacks, and hate messages.
Earlier this year, Twitter alone revealed that it has already taken down over 125,000 accounts with terrorism-related contents since mid-2015. Most of these account suspensions are linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Due to these events, social media giants have taken their respective measures on further enforcing their policies on threats posted and leaked through their online platforms.