The Federal Government of Nigeria has called on Facebook and other social media platforms to ban the Indigenous People of Biafra from using their platforms to incite violence and instigate ethnic hatred in Nigeria.
According to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, “Facebook has no justification for yielding its platform to the organisation to further its campaign of hate and destabilisation of the country.”
The statement which was made by Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister during a meeting with a team of Facebook in Abuja, he stated that IPOB has since been proscribed by the Federal Government and labeled a terrorist organization.
He said, “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. 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.”
“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,” Mohammed said.
The minister lamented that several complaints have been made to Facebook about the group’s atrocities yet, nothing has been to curtail their excesses.
“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,” Mohammed said.
The minister 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.”
“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,” he said.
