  Social media provides an extended space for collective action, as netizens
leverage it as a tool for claim-making and for demanding the dividends of
governance. However, political regimes often greet expanding use of social
media with censorship, which netizens often have to contend with, particularly
in the quest for development outcomes. While existing studies having
expansively explored multiple uses of social media, the specific features that
signal their massive uptake and how this intersects with the quest for
political power has not been substantially documented. This paper argues that
social media is characterized by social buttons that expedite the
multiplication of 'digital bullets' - in forms of tweets and perceived
detestable comments - which compromise the defense lines of political regimes,
hence, their uptake of censorship as metaphorical 'flak jackets'. This research
is conducted on the basis of key informant interviews with voices against
social media censorship in Nigeria since the inception of Nigeria's ruling
government in 2015, particularly following the proposed 'Protection from
Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill' in 2019.
