Nigerian streamer Carter Efe, Africa’s top Twitch creator with nearly 460,000 followers, learned his account was temporarily suspended for violating platform rules, with the ban reportedly lasting four months. The news hit right after his December 17 stream with Davido, which peaked at 83,000-88,000 concurrent viewers, a record for an African on Twitch that boosted his growth past rivals.
If you read our last article, “Davido x Carter Efe on Twitch: The Livestream That Just Rewired Creator Growth in Nigeria, you know we saw this as a key moment. We explained how that stream with OBO broke records, pulling in numbers that rival those of global creators and helping Efe surpass Shank Comics to become the top streamer in Africa.
Now, the situation has changed dramatically.
Carter Efe recently shared a screenshot that many creators fear. It wasn’t a simple warning; it was a serious email from Twitch saying his account had been suspended for violating their rules.
The surprising part? This suspension isn’t just for a day; it lasts four months. For a creator who just reached a career high—gaining about 160,000 followers in less than a week—this is a huge setback. It’s like scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final and then getting a red card while celebrating.
Twitch’s recent email was unclear, citing standard “Community Guidelines” violations. However, discussions on Nigerian social media are buzzing. In pop culture, there is a serious rivalry between 30BG (Davido’s fans) and Wizkid FC.
Many online believe that this suspension happened due to “mass reporting.” Carter Efe, known for edgy content, often finds himself in conflict with Wizkid FC. After the successful Davido stream, it’s rumoured that rival fans reported his account in large numbers, leading to an automatic suspension.
The truth is, we don’t know for sure. Yet, mass reporting is a standard tool used in fan wars. Twitch’s systems are sensitive, so if they receive a sudden spike in reports, they might lock an account while reviewing it.
What’s impressive is that Carter didn’t dwell on this issue. He quickly turned to YouTube. His first stream there attracted about 3,000 viewers. While that’s much lower than the 80,000 viewers he had on Twitch, it shows his resilience.
By moving to YouTube, he keeps his community engaged. He won’t let his momentum fade, even if he has to switch platforms.
The Big Lesson: You Are Renting Land
This situation highlights an important rule in the creator economy: you are renting space online. Whether on Twitch, TikTok, or X, you don’t own the platform. A change in the algorithm, a policy update, or a suspension can impact your income.
For now, Carter is in a tough spot, waiting out his Twitch sentence. But if we know anything about Nigerian creators, setbacks often lead to comebacks. We’ll be watching to see if Twitch changes its mind, but for now, Carter cannot use the platform where he is the biggest streamer in Africa.
