By 
The Nigerian government this week asked the House of Representatives to make a law to regulate social and online media arguing that it was within the purview of government to monitor internet broadcast and related online content through the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
The request is contained in the submission of the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the public hearing on a bill to amend the National Broadcasting Act organised by the House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values.
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The minister’s request will be reinforced government’s recent ban of Twitter operations in the country and a subsequent order by the NBC to broadcast media to delete their Twitter accounts
Some media organisations have refused to delete their accounts and have sought to sue the government, countering that the ban was not known by any Nigerian law.
“I want to add here specifically that internet broadcasting and all online media should be included in this because we have responsibility to monitor content, including Twitter,” the minister said while reacting to the provisions of section 2c of the proposed law which listed the categories of licenses to be granted to include Cable Television Services, Direct Satellite Broadcast, Direct to Home, IPTV, Radio, EPG and Digital Terrestrial television; radio and television stations owned, establish or operated by the federal, state and local governments, broadcast signal distribution, online broadcast, community broadcasting, and public service broadcasting, among others.
