Nigerian govt vows to prosecute purveyors of fake news
Nigerian
govt vows to prosecute purveyors of fake news
The
Federal Government on Sunday said that it will not relent until it has exposed
those behind the fake news phenomenon in the country and bring them to justice.
In a
statement in Abuja, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said
that those behind the fake news had the intention of destabilising the polity
and causing disunity among the country’s various ethnic and religious groups.
The
statement was signed by Segun Adeyemi, the Special Adviser to the Minister.
The
minister urged Nigerians to be extra vigilant in view of the worsening cases of
fake news being spread by the unscrupulous persons.
Mr.
Mohammed noted that over the weekend alone, several major cases of fake news
were recorded, each of them capable of causing panic, triggering chaos or
setting one group against the other.
He said
that a gory video of a blast that occurred many years ago was being circulated
along with the false news of a bomb blast in Abuja, while news of a
non-existent bomb blast in Lagos was also widely circulated.
He said
the police had, however, debunked the fake news.
Mr.
Mohammed said the latest strategy being employed by the purveyors of fake news
was to attribute to top government officials, improbable statements capable of
destabilising the polity, causing tension and threatening the country’s unity.
“This
is why we are appealing to Nigerians not to ever engage in a knee-jerk reaction
to any news, and to subject every information to a very serious scrutiny by
checking with security agencies and government spokespersons,” he said.
The
minister described the fake news phenomenon as ‘the scourge of our times’
noting that it would “probably get worse in the months ahead”
He,
therefore, called on all Nigerians to be very vigilant so that fake news
purveyors do not succeed in their quest to sow the seeds of chaos and
confusion.
He also
appealed to the traditional media, which has a reputation to protect, to join
the campaign against the purveyors of fake news.
