Nigerian citizens who attempt to bypass the government's Twitter ban face immediate prosecution.
Justice Minister Abubakar Malami announced this on Facebook on Saturday.
The government of the most populous country in Africa had previously instructed all mobile network operators to block access to the platform.
Most people in Nigeria, West Africa, no longer have access to the short message service.
The government of the state with more than 200 million inhabitants surprisingly announced the lock on Friday evening without giving a specific reason.
However, she pointed out that the platform was used again and again for activities that were likely to undermine Nigeria's existence.
On Wednesday, Twitter deleted a controversial tweet from Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and blocked the head of state's account for twelve hours.
The Twitter block met with heavy criticism in the country.
Many users accused the government of taking action against freedom of expression in the country.
Non-governmental organizations, including the Nigerian Bar Association, have announced legal action should the lockdown persist.
Amnesty International called on the government to reverse the decision immediately.
Twitter itself announced in a tweet that it was "very concerned" about the blockade.
The company wrote that access to a free and open Internet is a central right in a modern society.
Efforts will be made to restore access for all those in Nigeria who communicate with the rest of the world via Twitter.
The lock initially only affected the mobile internet, which is where most people in Nigeria have access to Twitter.
The service is still accessible via the much more expensive broadband network.
Twitter is very popular in Nigeria.
In the past year, young Nigerians had repeatedly used the platform to organize protests against police violence.