Twitter liable for lives, property lost during #EndSARS protests – FG

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said Twitter and its founder, Jack Dorsey, are liable for the loss of lives and property the country suffered during the EndSARS protests.
He stated this on Tuesday when he featured on a Radio Nigeria’s programme.
He accused Dorsey of raising funds through Bitcoins to sponsor the EndSARS protests while his platform, Twitter, was used to fuel the crisis.
He said Nigerians did not taken him seriously when he made the allegations earlier, until investigations were carried out by an online media outfit.
The minister said the online publication confirmed that Dorsey retweeted some posts by coalitions supporting the EndSARS protests and further launched an emoji to make the protest visible on the microblogging site.
He said, “If you ask people to donate money via bitcoins for EndSARS protesters then you are vicariously liable for whatever is the outcome of the protest.
“We have forgotten that EndSARS led to loss of lives, including 37 policemen, six soldiers, 57 civilians while property worth billions of naira were destroyed.
“164 police vehicles and 134 police stations were razed to the ground; 265 private corporate organisations were looted while 243 public property were looted.
“Eighty-one warehouses were looted while over 200 brand new buses bought by Lagos State Government were burnt to ashes.”
Mohammed said it was unfair to conclude that Twitter was suspended because it deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet.
He said the government took the action because the platform was being used to promote the views of those who wanted to destabilise the country.
He said, “Twitter has become a platform of choice for a particular separatist promoter.
“The promoter consistently used the platform to direct his loyalists to kill Nigerian soldiers and policemen, run down INEC offices and destroy all symbols of Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“Every attempt to persuade Twitter to deny its platform to this separatist leader was not taken serious.”

The minister also said Twitter had written the Federal Government that they wee ready to talk.
“As we have always maintained, the door is not locked and we are open-minded but Twitter must work toward it,” he said.
The minister reiterated the government’s position that it would not tolerate any platform that would be used to destabilise the country.
Mohammed said among other conditions for Twitter to resume operation in Nigeria, there must be an agreement as to what contents it could post.
He said Twitter and other platforms must also register as a Nigerian company, obtain licence from the National Broadcasting Commission and be guided by the rules of the licensing as well as pay taxes.