Nigerians have come to revere the flag as the symbol of the historic protest and vowed to amplify it every year in honour of civilians murdered by their own country’s soldiers flag on their profiles with rules violation.

The crackdown had been reported previously, but it intensified on Friday as Nigerians began a month-long advocacy to mark one year since the historic #EndSARS protest against police corruption and brutality

The flag made worldwide circulation last year after Nigerian soldiers deployed to quell the protest opened fire on protests in Lagos’ affluent Lekki suburb, killing at least nine civilians and wounding many others. The flag was used as a band-aid for some of the victims hit by the military bullets.

Nigerians have since come to revere the flag as the symbol of the historic protest and vowed to amplify it every year in honour of civilians murdered by their own country’s soldiers.

The lethal military response to a civil protest at the heart of Lagos was reportedly ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari, who has refused to allow justice for the victims or open investigation against possible culprits. The International Criminal Court has commenced investigation into the matter.

Several handles on Friday began reporting that they were receiving warnings from Twitter of rules violation after uploading the bloodied flag as their display image. The flag was captured at the scene of the deadly military operation on the night of October 20, 2020, near the busy Lekki Toll Gate.

The Gazette curated some of the complaints below.

We better not put too much trust in this called Twitter or its founder Jack. pic.twitter.com/KlmIVIZJcT
— Ayemojubar (@ayemojubar) October 1, 2021

Twitter said I can't use the endsars Nigerian flag as dp. Lol jack rake your time o pic.twitter.com/8H9We0CXRO
— Fludo 101 (@mj_ayoola) October 1, 2021

Who ever reported my previous Avi (blood stain Nigeria  flag)
You did well.
Twitter removed it.#EndSARS
— Ogochukwu  (@TheEmmalez) October 1, 2021

Please @TwitterSafety @TwitterSupport where is the violence in this flag?

If you see violence in this image, it means now you know what we are going through… Thank you for recognizing the injustices we suffer on a daily basis, we will forever be grateful for your support. pic.twitter.com/k0uDnyhA79

— Chris C #wahalabelike (@thedichotome) October 1, 2021

The development has fueled speculation that Twitter executives might have agreed to crack down on opposition voices to meet some of the draconian conditions set by the Buhari regime to lift its June 4, 2021, illegal ban on the social media giant in Nigeria.


Some pro-government handles have been asking Twitter to take down users with the bloodied flag on their profiles. It was unclear whether the handles received warnings after being reported by many pro-government users or if it was a deliberate decision on the part of Twitter.

@jack,@Twitter should be suspending any profile with or posting Stained  Flag. Freedom Of Expression doesn't mean Nonsense should be tolerated. Don't let children of anarchy pushed you to permanent ban in Nigeria. pic.twitter.com/vJXp3EveYm
— Ayinde_OmO_Yobe (@Ayinde2007) October 1, 2021

On September 3, Digital Africa Research Lab noticed that some handles were being warned against using the flag and asked users with similar experiences to report.

A spokesman for Twitter did not immediately return a request seeking comments from The Gazette on Friday evening.

FakeUnity:
Zombies have invaded twitter to report every post that tell booharii the truth.

Rolings:


What i still dont get is why using a pictures from a drama as pictures of an event supposedly streamed live....what happen to live pictures?
That bloodied flag was not from Lekki....

Why are you people complaining now that some people are reporting your fake news....Jack no wan make una spoil business for am....if you cant take the censorship from twitter.....use other apps...
So much for the folly of using VPN to access twitter.....

Mynd44:
Everybody will be fine last last

Some people said it last year that twitter knows that a lot of its actions and activities don't conform with twitter's own regulations and they would not dare do things like that in other countries but trust Nigerians who think theu can spite their own country.

People also pointed out that the suspension will reset twitter and make them act right but people felt, nah, twitter want do such.

The same twitter that needs to expand yet the biggest markets it is observing (India and Subsaharan Africa) are demanding standards else they will be banned.

The same twitter which started deleting tweets they deviously said was not against their rules after the ban, this is what happens when a government decides they have had enough of BS and want companies to act right

AnonPoet:
https://gazettengr.com/twitter-cracks-down-on-nigerians-using-bloodied-flag-to-mark-endsars-anniversary/

CaptainAyub:

Zombie ooo zombie �‍♂️