Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that a ban on Twitter in the country be lifted, but only if the tech giant meets certain conditions.

The ban was still in place on Friday morning, even as President Buhari said Nigerians could continue to use the platform for "business and positive engagements".

In a speech marking the country’s independence day, the president said that a presidential committee had engaged with Twitter on a number of issues from national security, to fair taxation and dispute resolution.

Twitter has not responded to the president's remarks.

The Nigerian government suspended Twitter’s operations in June after the social media platform deleted a controversial tweet by President Buhari.

The suspension led to strong criticism from human rights organisations and press freedom advocates.

Despite the ban, no arrests or fines were imposed during this period for journalists or media houses who kept using the platform.