The Federal Government of Nigeria has said it has no plan to ban or suspend the operations of social media giant, Facebook, unless it continues to promote the incisive activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made this known while addressing State House correspondents after a virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Mohammed had met with representatives of Facebook on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, and had expressed the country’s displeasure that the social media giant had continued to allow IPOB to use its platform as a medium for spreading its incendiary messages to its followers, which he said had led to deaths and destruction of property.
When the Minister was asked whether the Federal Government was contemplating a ban on the operations of Facebook as it did to Twitter, Minister Mohammed noted that there was no such plan yet, as the government had a fruitful discussion with the company, according to reports.
“At that meeting, we expressed our displeasure that Facebook was becoming a power of choice for those who stay outside Nigeria, in particular, to incite violence, killings, burning of government property, killing of soldiers and policemen and that they should do more than what they are doing now in looking at the contents, which are unwholesome, which are being used on their platforms”.
Lai Mohammed
Nigeria Government warns Facebook to Stop yielding platform to IPOB
During the meeting with Facebook on May 17, 2022, Alhaji Lai Mohammed cautioned Facebook and other social media platforms operating in the country to stop allowing the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to use their platforms to incite violence and instigate ethnic hatred in Nigeria, according to reports.
Per reports, Minister Lai Mohammed noted that since IPOB had been proscribed and classified as a terrorist organization, Facebook had no justification for yielding its platform to the organization to further its campaign of hate and destabilization of the country.
“I have called this meeting to enable us to discuss the increasing use of Facebook by separatists and anarchists, especially those of them based outside the country, to instigate violence and ethnic hatred in Nigeria. For whatever reason, they seem to have now chosen Facebook as their platform of choice. Their tools include disinformation, incendiary statements, and hate speech. They use Facebook broadcasts to reach their followers, who are in thousands. They tag those opposed to their violent ways as ‘saboteurs’ who must be attacked, maimed and killed”.
Lai Mohammed
The Minister indicated that the actions of the proscribed group have real-life implications, adding that by purveying hate and inciting violence, people are getting killed while private and public properties are being attacked and destroyed. According to the Minister, security agencies and other symbols of government are IPOB’s choice targets.
The Minister further speaking noted that despite the numerous complaints to Facebook about the activities of IPOB, nothing has been done by the company to curtail the group’s excesses on the social media platform.
“Our social media people have been monitoring these separatists, anarchists, and purveyors of hate, and have been reporting their atrocious actions to Facebook, but all they get are default responses that their complaints have been received and are being looked into. Most often than not, nothing is done about such complaints. The truth is that whatever Facebook is doing to check these people is mere tokenism and is totally ineffective”.
Lai Mohammed
Mohammed said the government would be monitoring Facebook and other platforms closely in the days ahead to ensure compliance with the demand, as it steps up the campaign for the responsible use of social media.
“Some have tagged our efforts as an attempt to stifle social media,” Lai Mohammed said, adding that “They are wrong because we have no intention of preventing Nigerians from using social media responsibly. All we have been advocating is a responsible use of social media”.
It can be recalled that the Nigerian government descended heavily on Twitter for allegedly giving its platform to “sinister groups” to express their views while deleting President Muhammadu Buhari’s comment claiming not to recognize the handle of the President. In response to that seemingly act of indiscretion, the Nigerian government banned Twitter operations in Nigeria for months.
Read also: Twitter ban: Commonwealth says it’s monitoring repression in Nigeria
