Former United States President Donald Trump issued a statement supporting the Federal Government of Nigeria’s decision to suspend Twitter activities in the West African country.

The former president in his statement said: “Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their President.” Trump also encouraged other countries to follow in Nigeria’s footsteps and ban Twitter and Facebook.

“More COUNTRIES should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech — all voices should be heard. In the meantime, competitors will emerge and take hold. Who are they to dictate good and evil if they themselves are evil? Perhaps I should have done it while I was President. But Zuckerberg kept calling me and coming to the White House for dinner telling me how great I was. 2024?” he added.

Trump's statement is coming days after Nigeria's information minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, issued an executive order banning Twitter activities in Nigeria after Nigeria's President Buhari's tweet was yanked off the microblogging platform for inciting genocide.

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President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria had violated Twitter with his tweet that went against Twiter abusive behaviour policy as several calls by Nigerians to take it down followed before it was yanked off. Buhari's tweet threatened punishment on secessionists in the southeastern part of the country.

Donald Trump on the other hand has been on the receiving end of not one but two bans - from Facebook and Twitter, respectively. In early January, he was permanently banned from Twitter after instigating the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol. Twitter cited concerns over the “risk of further incitement of violence.”

Trump was subsequently suspended indefinitely on Facebook. Last Friday, the social media juggernaut announced its decision to reconsider Trump’s suspension in two years (which starts counting from January).