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Fed Govt puts Facebook under watch over IPOB

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2022

Information, Culture & Tourism Minister Lai Mohammed

FACEBOOK and other social media platforms have been cautioned against yielding their platforms to the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to incite violence and instigate ethnic hatred in Nigeria.

The Federal Government gave the instruction through Information, Culture & Tourism Minister Lai Mohammed at a meeting with a team from Facebook.

In a statement signed by his media aide, Mr. Segun Adeyemi, the minister said since IPOB had been proscribed and classified as a terrorist organisation, Facebook has no justification to continue allowing its platform to be used by the organisation to further its campaign of hate and destabilisation of the country.

Mohammed was quoted as saying: “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.

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“For whatever reason, they seem to have now chosen Facebook as their platform of choice. And 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. They use both English and their local language as it suits them.”

He said the actions of the outlawed group have real-life implications, adding: “By purveying hate and inciting violence, people are getting killed while private and public property are being attacked and destroyed. Security agencies and other symbols of government are their choice targets.”

The minister said that despite the numerous complaints to Facebook on the activities of IPOB, nothing has been done by the company to curtail the group’s excesses on the social media platform.

He said: “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 has been done about such complaints… The truth is that whatever Facebook is doing to check these people is mere tokenism and is totally ineffective.”

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.

He said: “We have always advocated a responsible use of social media, and consistently called on all stakeholders to join us in achieving this. Some have tagged our efforts as an attempt to stifle social media.

“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,” the minister said.

Related Topics:Facebook Featured Fed Govt IPOB

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JUST-IN: I’ll resign if Yahaya Bello is not prosecuted – EFCC Chairman

Published

28 mins ago

April 23, 2024

Trends Admin

EFCC Chairman, Olanipekun Olukoyede

JUST-IN: I’ll resign if Yahaya Bello is not prosecuted – EFCC Chairman

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has vowed to follow the prosecution of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to logical conclusion.

Olukoyede disclosed this on Tuesday during an interactive session with media executives in Abuja

The anti-graft chairman sworn that he would resign as EFCC chairman if Bello is not prosecuted.

The EFCC boss said; “I called Yahaya Bello, as a serving governor, to come to my office to clear himself. I shouldn’t have done that.

“But he said because a certain senator has planted over 100 journalists in my office, he would not come.

“I told him that he would be allowed to use my private gate to give him a cover, but he said my men should come to his village to interrogate him.”

Olukoyede said the EFCC did not violate any law while trying to arrest the former governor from his residence.

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“Rather, we have obeyed the law. I inherited the case and I didn’t create it. Why has he not submitted himself to the law?” he asked.

“I have arraigned two past governors who have been granted bail now — Willie Obiano and Abdulfatah Ahmed.”

The EFCC chairman promised that anyone responsible for impeding Bello’s arrest from his home in Abuja will suffer the full force of the law.

“We would have gone after him since January but we waited for the court order,” Olukoyede said.

“As early as 7 am, my men were there. Over 50 of them. They mounted surveillance.

“We met over 30 armed policemen there. We would have exchanged fire and there would have been casualties.

“My men were about to move in when the governor of Kogi drove in and they later changed the narrative.”

He vowed that all those who have dipped their hands into the nation’s coffers would be investigated and prosecuted.

“If I can do Obiano, Abdulfatah Ahmed and Chief Olu Agunloye, my kinsman, why not Yahaya Bello?” Olukoyede concluded.

JUST-IN: I’ll resign if Yahaya Bello is not prosecuted – EFCC Chairman

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Tinubu approves palliative for traditional, religious institutions

Published

1 hour ago

April 23, 2024

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Tinubu approves palliative for traditional, religious institutions

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has revealed that President Bola Tinubu has approved that 20% of palliative food intervention go through religious and traditional institutions.

Mr Shettima made this known while delivering the keynote lecture at a High-Level Dialogue of Faith Leaders on Nutrition in Nigeria, which was hosted at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday.

“The Imam of Bayero University (BUK) mentioned about the exclusion of the traditional and religious leaders in the distribution of palliatives.

”The President has approved that 20 per cent of the palliative in terms of food intervention be routed through our religious organisations and the traditional institutions.

“The Tsangaya schools, the mission schools will be specially targeted for such intervention,” Mr Shettima said.

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The Vice-President said that government was working out logistics through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to ensure smooth implementation of the intervention programme.

“This intervention will be anchored in the office of the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, and he is going to anchor the programme.

“We are going to provide the overall supervision towards the implementation of the programme.

“Also 20 per cent of the funds for the School Feeding Programme is going to be channeled through the office of the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning to the religious bodies.”

Mr Shettima stated that government had already commenced engagement and working out modalities for the intervention to ensure a very transparent disbursement, taken into cognisance of all tendencies in our system.

He added that the intervention would include Tsangaya and Mission schools.

Tinubu approves palliative for traditional, religious institutions

(NAN)

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Peter Obi was never a Labour person, LP just special vehicle – Doyin Okupe

Published

1 hour ago

April 23, 2024

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Peter Obi was never a Labour person, LP just special vehicle – Doyin Okupe

Former director-general of the Labour Party presidential campaign, Doyin Okupe has said the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, never believed in the ideologies of the party.

Okupe stated this while answering questions in an interview on Arise Television’s flagship programme, The Morning Show.

The Labour Part, according to Okupe was just a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the presidential election.

Okupe who resigned his membership of the Labour Party in January, on the grounds of ideological differences said his membership of the party ended the moment Obi lost the election.

“The LP for us — for Peter Obi and I — and those in the leadership of the movement… the party was a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

“I have never been a labour person, I have never operated on the left before but we needed a platform and this was the only platform readily available to us.

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“We thought that if we won the election… there are no fast and hard rules about ideologies. You can always find a shade between the left and the right. You can always move to the centre.

“We were hoping and praying that if we won we would find a way to come to some consensus with the labour.

“Peter Obi is not a labour person. He is not a leftist person, he is a trader, he is a businessman just like me. I am a liberal democrat, I believe in liberal democracy, I believe in free enterprise.

“I am not a social worker. As far as I’m concerned, my membership of labour expired the moment we lost that election.”

The former presidential aide said it was “unreasonable” for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to present a northerner as its candidate in the buildup to the 2023 election.