NEW: Twitter suspended over 1,500 accounts after BF News & @DigiAfricaLab uncovered an influence op involving employees of a Nigerian PR firm, a UK-based nonprofit called Digital Good Governance for Africa, and scores of paid Nigerian Twitter influencers: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/nigerian-twitter-campaign-alex-saab

Since mid-January, #freealexsaab has been a rallying cry among Nigerians on Twitter. Saab is a Colombian businessman whom a Florida court charged with money laundering in 2019. He's also alleged to have helped the Maduro government evade sanctions via fuel and gold trading.

Saab has been detained in Cape Verde since June, fighting extradition to the US. We found that ppl were paid to tweet about Saab, tag accounts, and trend the Saab hashtag in an effort to sway public opinion and court proceedings in Nigeria and Cape Verde.

Multiple people confirmed the payments and we obtained a campaign brief from Digital Good Governance for Africa that outlined the plan. This story exposes the widespread manipulation of Twitter by Nigerian influencers, an issue that takes on urgency with elections coming in 2023.