Social media companies that want to operate in Nigeria will now have to register there and be licensed by the broadcasting commission.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed made the announcement following the government’s suspension of Twitter five days ago.

“We are insisting that for you to operate in Nigeria you must first be a Nigerian company and be licensed by the broadcasting commission,” he said.

There has not been any new law or regulation passed to enforce the new requirements.

Last week, the social media platform deleted a post by President Muhammadu Buhari for breaching its rules.

Nigeria’s presidency has denied its ban was an act of retaliation.

Many privately owned media outlets in Nigeria are disobeying an order to deactivate their Twitter accounts and accessing the site using virtual private networks (VPNs).