Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
The Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo on Monday, October 11, 2021, said Inflation in the country trended downwards over the last five months.
This statement generated murmurs as it was made on the heels of rising cost of living in Nigeria. In September, for instance, the cost of cooking gas rose by over 10 percent in less than two months.
THE CLAIM
Inflation in Nigeria trended downwards over the last five months.
THE FINDINGS
Osinbajo who spoke during the Mid-Term Ministerial Performance Review Retreat, said “inflation has trended downwards over the last five months falling into about 17 percent during the second quarter of this year although food inflation as you know is still very troubling and food production and supply has been affected by security challenges.”
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that there was a slight decrease in inflation within the reference period.
Nigeria’s inflation data visualised by Trading Economics.
Data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics show that Nigeria’s annual inflation rate eased for a fifth straight as at when Osinbajo made the statement.
It reduced to 17.01 per cent in August 2021, from 17.38 per cent in the the pervious month, July. It was the lowest inflation rate since January despite the naira’s exchange rate falling at the parallel market.
This was the trend April to August as the preceding months all showed reduction.
Data released by the NBS after Osinbajo’s statement showed a continued downward trend of inflation to the sixth month. September recorded 16.63 per cent, from 17.01 per cent in August. This represents a 0.38 per cent points drop from the previous month.
Inflation trend showing a drop in September making it the sixth month. Visualisation by The ICIR.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria’s inflation trended downwards over the last five months is TRUE.
A claim is circulating on social media that the government is giving students and business owners who are within the 13 to 65 age bracket N150,000 to N550,000 grant.
This it says the government is doing under a supposed National Youth Empowerment Fund (NYEF). It called on interested applicants to fill an online application.
This claim which has been shared repeatedly on WhatsApp and other platforms reads: (SIC) “The National Youth Empowerment Funds is vision into giving out N150,000 to N550,000 grant to every citizen under the age of 13-65 years from 2021 – 2024.”
It added that “October payments has began for those that have registered, register to be part of the beneficiaries.”
THE CLAIM
Government is disbursing N150,000 to N550,000 grant to student and business owners who are between 13 t0 65 age range.
A screenshot of the claim circulated on WhatsApp.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show the claim is false.
Aside the grammatical errors, the content of the broadcast message shared on WhatsApp is self contradictory.
It initially stated that the fund is a minimum of N150,000 and maximum of N550,000, but in the next paragraph where it delineates what each age bracket can get, it stated that those within the 25-65 age brackets gets N400,000 to N700,000. The maximum figure has shifted.
Furthermore, a look at the website the claim directs too has similar features with the websites The FactCheckHub has verified and found to be false here, here, here, and here.
The website after completing the form redirected to an adult content platform.
In addition even though it incorporated logos and graphics from the Federal Government-led Nigeria Youth Investment Fund , all the menu tabs of the website redirects to the same form page archived here. A click on the ‘Home page’, ‘Events’ and ‘Mail Us’ tab on the menu redirects to the same page which contains a black background, white texts, a form and congratulations to visitors.
This is an observed feature on fraudulent and phishing websites where the the tabs or social media icons do not do what they are supposed to do.
The tabs on the menu all redirects to this page.
Furthermore the broadcast message in circulation as well as the website are laced with grammatical and typographical errors.
An earlier report by The FactCheckHub captures how to spot and why such websites masquerading as what they are not abound and circulates primarily on WhatsApp.
THE VERDICT
Although federal and states government in Nigeria have several empowerment programmes and schemes meant to support youths and small businesses, the claim in circulation is not one of them. It is therefore FALSE.
ON the 2nd of October 2021, a tweet that claimed a groomsman wearing earrings left a wedding ceremony because he was told it was not allowed in the church went viral.
The tweet archived here, which was made by @ChefOpeyemi with the user name ‘Food Critic’ reads: “At a Baptist Church in Isolo, groomsman duties and the reverend just told me I’m not allowed to wear earrings in church. I calmly left the church, guess it’ll be the reception for me. Shout out to Nigerian Christianity, and hope they have fine dining restaurants in hell.”
This created a buzz on social media with some people praising the church for taking a stand while admonishing him to abide by the rules and some doubting if the incident actually happened as it may be a fabricated story for clout.
It is not unheard of for people to fabricate stories for social media clout or gain, hence, the FactCheckHub verified the claim.
THE CLAIM
Groomsman was not allowed to attend a church wedding for wearing earrings.
A screenshot of the viral tweet.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE.
A Twitter user, Adelere Victoria in a tweet archived here confirmed that the incident happened in her church.
She said during the thanksgiving service held the next day, a Sunday, the pastor prayed for Opeyemi. “He even told the groom at their thanksgiving in church today that tell that your friend that I love him”, she noted.
In a separate tweet archived here, Adelere identified the church as Victoryland Baptist Church located at Qudus Folawiyo street in Isolo, Lagos state.
Opeyemi, in his now viral tweet, had noted that the incident happened at a ‘Baptist church’ in ‘Isolo’.
Another Twitter user, who alleged Opeyemi was chasing clout in a tweet archived here shared a photo of Opeyemi and a man he referred to as the pastor. The photo was taken in what appears to be the church premises with the groom and bridal party in the background.
The groomsman, Opeyemi with the pastor at the church premises. Photo via Twitter.Image of the Baptist church retrieved via Google Street View showing window pane and wall colour similar to the ones in the image above.
The part of the building that can be seen in the photo has similarities in terms of the wall and window colours as well as the window framing from image of the Victoryland Baptist Church seen using Google Street View.
Multiple videos posted on the Facebook page of Victoryland Baptist Church has the man Opeyemi took a photo with either preaching or talking to a congregation. One of the video has a chest caption ‘Rev’d Dr Femi Ajayi’.
The FactCheckHub also called the number on the church’s Facebook page to confirm if the incident truly happened there. The person who picked up the phone call but declined to disclose his name said “I had done what the Bible teaches by correcting him lovingly and he had the right to adhere to instruction or not”.
A check on Truecaller – a web and mobile app-based platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication – shows ‘Femi Ajayi’ as the name on the number. Further checks using the WhatsApp platform shows the same Femi Ajayi and the profile photo is also that of the man Opeyemi took the photo (as shown above) with.
THE VERDICT
The claim is TRUE; the groomsman was not allowed into Victoryland Baptist Church because he wore earrings.
AN image of a man dressed in the Nigerian camouflaged Police uniform sitting in front of other men in the Police-parading-suspects style has been circulated online with the claim, he is the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in Kaduna state who was arrested for collaborating with bandits and kidnappers.
The caption of the the photo which was sent to The FactCheckHub via WhatsApp on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 for verification read “Kaduna State Deputy Commissioner of Police Command, went to give firearms to bandits and kidnappers, unfortunately, he was arrested”.
THE CLAIM
Kaduna State Deputy Commissioner of Police was arrested for giving firearms to kidnappers and bandits.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is false.
The image resurfaced at a point where Nigeria is enmeshed in a wave of insecurity such as banditry and kidnapping. Kaduna is one of the states plagued by the insecurity.
A reverse search of the image showed that it has been shared across different social media with some of them dating back several years.
Furthermore, this image in some instances has been manipulated and carry varying captions.
An immediate inconsistency spotted is in the rank on the uniform worn by the man. The rank is that of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, (ACP), aside checking the ranking insignia of the Nigeria Police online, it was also independently confirmed to The FactCheckHub by two Police officers. This contradicts the the claim which states the man is a DCP.
Furthermore, the result from a Google Image Search showed that there have been reports published since June 2019, stating that a man impersonating an ACP was arrested in Akwa Ibom state. The picture in the report is the same image in circulation.
The man was identified as Kingsley Udoyen. The Police tagged him as fake Police, who according to the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, was 53 years old, resident in Akwa Ibom state.
In addition, earlier in the year the Police had issued a social media photo card to debunk a similar viral claim.
The rebuttal which was traced to the verified security agency Twitter handle @PoliceNg was made on March 15. The Police noted “He is not a cop”, he was arrested and paraded for impersonation.
In June 2019, they announced the prosecution of the accused impostor.
The Police debunked the claim on Social media using a photo card.Police labels a similar claim as fake news on its official Twitter handle.
The Kaduna State Police Command, in April of 2021, also debunked the claim saying “The command wishes to categorically state that the image in circulation is not that of any police officer in the Kaduna Command or anywhere in Nigeria”.
“The image with camouflage uniform, wearing the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, is one of Kingsley Udoyem, who was arrested and paraded by Akwa-Ibom Police Command on 2nd January 2019 for the offence of impersonating a police officer. Therefore, the image in circulation is not in any way connected to a Deputy Commissioner of Police in Kaduna as portrayed in the report,” the Police stated.
The Factcheckub had earlier debunked a similar claim shared with the picture where it stated a Police officer was arrested for kidnaping, this time around without adding the state.
THE VERDICT
The claim is FALSE, the Nigeria Police stated the man in the picture is an impersonator and the image has been in circulation since 2019.
A FORMER aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, on Wednesday, September 29, said Nigeria’s national debt as of 2015 was N12 trillion naira.
This debt, he said under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, has shot up to N35 trillion.
He made the assertion via his social media handle while blaming the current administration for the current economic situation.
“In case you don’t know why the Naira is ₦575 to $1, and may soon become ₦1000 to $1, it is because Buhari has increased our total national debt from ₦12 trillion in 2015, to ₦35 trillion today,” the statement reads in part.
He also stated that the the naira is now less that the Zimbabwean dollar.
The claim generated reactions on social media.
THE CLAIMS
From the post two claims were deduced:
Nigeria’s national debt in 2015 was N12 trillion but it rose to N35 trillion in 2021
The Naira is less than the Zimbabwean dollar.
THE FINDINGS
Established on December 4, 2000, the Debt Management Office (DMO) of the Federal Government of Nigeria is responsible for managing and storing information regarding the country’s local and international debts.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also collects data on national and state debts.
President Buhari was sworn into office for his first term as a democratic president in May 2015.
Debt profile 2015
The debt profile is released quarterly.
To ascertain the claim, the FactCheckHub checked through the website of the DMO, It showed that as at the second quarter of 2015 which was when Buhari just came into office Nigeria’s debt was an estimated N12.12 trillion or $63.8 billion This is the grand total of the external debt stock (FG and States), domestic debt stock (FG) as well as the domestic debt of the states.
Nigeria Total Debt Profile as of June 30, 2015. Source: DMO
As of this period, the Central Bank (CBN) official exchange rate of a dollar to Naira was N196.95.
This figure was also reported by national dailies here.
Debt profile 2021
In June 2021, the DMO stated that the debt profile was an estimated N33.1 trillion or $87,239.12 billion. This figure it states was as the first quarter of the year, while a dollar exchanges for N379.5. The same figure was made public by the NBS.
The sum is an aggregate of accrued debts from the 36 states of the federation and the federal government.
As at when Omokri made the statement the CBN dollar to naira exchange rate was N410.3, which if used to convert the external debt $87,239.12 billion to naira gives an estimated N35.7 trillion.
Though, the federal government has sought to borrow more funds since the time the last debt profile was released to the public. In July, the Senate approved $8.4 billion and 490 million Euros for the federal government as its external borrowing plan. Buhari further wrote to the lawmakers for another $4 billion and 71 million Euros.
However, the current debt profile posted by the DMO stands at $87,239.12 billion.
These make Omokri’s claim to be Mostly True.
Nigeria Total Debt Profile as of March 30, 2021. Source: DMO.
Is the Naira less than the Zimbabwean dollar?
While Zimbabwe’s official currency is the Zimbabwean Dollar, Nigeria’s is the Naira.
Conversion using multiple currency converter’s places a Zimbabwean dollar at an estimated N1.13 kobo, this makes it higher than the Naira. Therefore, the claim is TRUE.
Since its introduction in 1980, the Zimbabwean dollar has undergone multiple changes in 2006, 2008, 2009 and in 2019 when it was introduced based on the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS).
Naira to Zimbabwean Dollar. Source: www.xe.com
THE VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria’s national debt in 2015 was N12 trillion but it rose to N35 trillion in 2021 is MOSTLY TRUE and the claim that the the Naira is less than the Zimbabwean dollar is TRUE.
Update: The penultimate paragraph on changes in Zimbabwean dollar was added on 06/10/2021.
THE Boko Haram (Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād) insurgency has been on for over 12 years. During this time, it has not only transcended its physical epicentre in Northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state by spilling into neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon, but it has also gained a global presence through the establishment of an accessible digital presence for engagement far beyond the Chad basin.
Nigeria reported its first case of COVID-19 in February 2020, and less than two months later, user generated content (UGC) was identified showing Boko Haram’s then leader, Abubakar Shekau, purporting himself as an altruistic information-force in uncertain times, he said “I want to enlighten the world, even though they are blocking our information, God still has ways of delivering it.”
Boko Haram’s scepticism over COVID-19 and associated health mitigation measures are not isolated views within Nigeria. Powerful religious leaders, such as Chris Okotie, founder of the Household of God Church International Ministries, claimed that COVID-19 vaccines would turn recipients into vampires.
Even those in Government have added fuel to Nigeria’s mis/disinformation fire. Yahaya Bello, Governor of Kogi state, claimed in March 2020 that the furore around COVID-19 was 90 per cent driven by “political, economic, financial [or] material gain” and the other 10 per cent “[relates to] ordinary flu”.
A February 2021 report from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), highlights the threat posed by such commentary, indicating that more than half of respondents surveyed in Nigeria feel that the threat from COVID-19 is exaggerated.
It is expected that Boko Haram have both contributed to this metric, and (perhaps unwittingly) capitalised on it, producing content and authoritative dialogue which presented COVID-19 response protocols as specifically targeting Muslims. According to Shekau in an April 2020 speech, “you only hear of Corona, but you are telling Muslims not to pray and you close mosques”.
The UGC identified from June 2020 shows Boko Haram members continuing to ignore social distancing regulations enforced across Nigeria at the time, with Eid celebrations being conducted without masks, hands being shook and hugs shared between adherents.
As recently as April 2021, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter-cell of Boko Haram, have shared similar UGC, showing similar disregard for COVID-19 safety and physical distancing measures.
Haruna Mohammed Salisu, a resident of Borno state and publisher of the Wikki Times (a Nigerian digital media platform), described the situation in the North-East as “a double pandemic”.
Salisu stated that, due to security concerns, aid workers and government officials were unable to access some communities in Boko Haram controlled areas. This has left these individuals without adequate access to either COVID-19 inoculation or treatment, or authoritative sources of information on the pandemic and the risks associated with the disease.
For these people, the ‘double pandemic’ refers to the insurgency and both the threat of COVID-19 and the continued permeation of mis/disinformation throughout their information sources.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), as of 08-Sep-2021, Borno state had recorded 1,344 ‘lab-confirmed’ cases of COVID-19 (from a state population of at least 5.8 million, as of 2016). This figure most likely misrepresents the actual number of cases, and deaths caused by, COVID-19. The ‘double pandemic’ almost certainly contributes to this misrepresentation.
In his June 2021 response to being censored by Twitter for breaching the platform’s Hateful Conduct policy, President Muhammadu Buhari effectively censored the Nigerian public. Although not done for the purposes of minimising extremist dialogue online, it did lose Boko Haram its domestic Twitter audience.
This isn’t to suggest the content stopped flowing – instead, it continues to be shared through less overt and less accessible means. WhatsApp, Telegram and other closed-access messaging services allow content to be shared on a large scale to both individual users and groups. And for Boko Haram and its associated splinter-groups, they are well prepared for content take-downs, with research from 2020 showing at times up to fifty active WhatsApp groups in operation for content dissemination.
ISWAP distributing flyers: Photo: HumAngle media.
More traditional methods are still under employ also, with researcher interviews amongst Boko Haram members showing that peer-to-peer sharing, such as through Bluetooth, is still being used to disseminate extremist content and disinformation, alongside more traditional (and physical measures), including preaching and flyer distribution.
Although content moderation is too contested a topic for discussion in this short article, one of its effects in the Nigerian context – combined with access restrictions to Boko-Haram controlled areas – is that messaging is still being received by the public; but is less likely to be identified and dispelled by authoritative bodies who maintain public trust.
The activities of extremist groups in the information sphere both directly and indirectly undermine public health responses in combating COVID-19 and have far-reaching negative effects if left unchecked.
This post forms part of a larger investigation into the COVID-19 disinformation and extremism nexus in and around Nigeria. This publication was produced as part of IWPR’s Africa Resilience Network (ARN) programme, administered in partnership with the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and Africa Uncensored.
Edit: P8 ‘User Generated Content’ was changed to UGC | ‘a’ was removed from P19.
THE Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Gbenga Sesan has urged the Nigerian government to channel the energy directed at social media regulation to carrying out its main responsibilities.
He said this while speaking at a webinar organised by The International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) in collaboration with The International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.
The webinar titled Should Government Regulate Social Media? was held via Zoom and had panellists and public speaking on the effects of social media regulation on a democratic society.
“The Nigerian Government should spend as much energy doing its real work as it spends on regulating social media,” he said.
The webinar video.
He said this in reaction to the position of the Director-General (DG) of the National Orientation Agency Garba Abari, who said that the government had to regulate social media platforms to avoid the disintegration of the country.
“In a society that is this heterogeneous, complex, big, both in terms of its population and landmass, it is important that what goes out of the country is something that will integrate, not that which will disintegrate a country that is already divided along religious, ethnic, cultural and traditional lines,” Abari said.
“Government must regulate the manner in which such platforms are used. Where social media allows itself to be used to cause disaffection, no responsible government would fold its arms and watch,” he said.
However, Abari noted that government should operate within its constitutional rights in managing cyberspace, stressing that social media had been used on different occasions to increase disunity and create unrest in the country.
“We are in an era of infodemic. All manner of information is in cyberspace. So, because the environment is such that has to be managed properly, the government must have to, within its constitutional limits, find a way of managing this plurality that characterises the Nigerian state,” he said.
The DG noted that while the constitution guaranteed freedom of speech, there was no absolute freedom as corresponding responsibilities were attached.
He also said regulation of social media could be beneficial to citizens and cited the shutdown of telecommunications in areas such as Zamfara to tackle terrorism in the region.
Sesan had disagreed with the DG, saying that Nigeria’s challenge was not social media and that the clampdown on telecommunication in some parts of the country had been ineffective.
He noted that some terrorists had access to sophisticated equipment, and terror attacks had continued within these areas.
“The problem is not social media. The problem is bad governance and impunity. When we are ready to have a real regulation, then we will begin to talk on issues about legality,” he said.
Sesan also stated that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the agricultural sector had brought Nigeria out of recession and accused the government of ‘cutting its nose to spite its face.’
He urged the government to desist from creating an atmosphere of fear and clampdown while other countries created conducive environments for innovation.
Also speaking at the webinar was Executive Director of Global Rights Biodun Baiyewu, who said while social media regulation was necessary to monitor content that could be harmful to the polity, the lack of trust between the government and the people was creating difficulties.
“There is very little trust between the government and the people. The government doesn’t trust that the people will support them, the people don’t trust that the government will speak for them. The government is rapidly losing agency with the people of Nigeria,” she said.
She noted that the government had deepened the divide between itself and its citizens through approach, adding that no country could develop under such circumstances.
Baiyewu also said residents of some states, who had been cut off from telecommunications, had no option of reaching out to the public for help.
Promotional poster for the webinar.
She referred to the ban on Twitter, saying it had resulted in the loss of lives as more citizens had been cut off from relevant information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Once Twitter was banned, there was a direct correlation between the ban and the surge in COVID cases,” she said.
She also said the government had a history of attempting to clamp down on citizens’ freedom of expression and many Nigerians were behind bars for demanding government accountability.
Affiliate at Berkman Klein Centre for Internet and Society, Havard University, Nana Nwachukwu, while also speaking at the webinar, said the government had not engaged in actual regulation of social media but was only concerned with not embarrassing corrupt politicians.
Nwachukwu also said the government was unconcerned about the privacy or safety of citizens and was actively fostering disunity in the country.
“The Nigerian government put out a tweet. That tweet was aimed at disintegration. What the Nigerian government should have done is query whoever put out that tweet and we are assuming it’s not the president,” she said.
She urged the government and its officials to carry out introspection and find out the challenges facing citizens face, rather than always using the ‘hammer and nail’ approach.
The Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Gbenga Sesan has urged the Nigerian government to channel the energy directed at social media regulation to carrying out its main responsibilities.
He said this while speaking a webinar organised by The International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) in collaboration with The International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) and The FactCheckHub on Wednesday.
The webinar titled: Should Government Regulate Social Media was held via Zoom and had panellists and the public speaking on the effects of social media regulation in a democracy.
A video has been shared repeatedly on WhatsApp in Nigeria that Apple’s iPhone 13 series requires vaccination before it can be used.
The video, which has been in circulation a few days after the introduction of the iPhone 13, is shared with different captions.
One caption states: “You can’t use iPhone 13 without being vaccinated!”; another insinuated that the phone secretly vaccinates its user.
It reads: “Here’s iPhone 13, it can secretly vaccinate you once you have it in your hands. It can dictate if you are vaccinated or not, report you to the police if you’re not vaccinated and it won’t work if you’re not vaccinated. Let’s be ready, we are in the end time”.
A screenshot of the inaccurate claim in circulation that iPhone 13 requires vaccination.
THE CLAIM
The iPhone 13 requires vaccination to unlock and can secretly vaccinate its user.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
A search on the internet using frames from the video and keywords from the captions showed that the clip in circulation originated from a video posted on the YouTube channel of ‘The Babylon Bee’.
The Babylon Bee is a satirical content platform. Its motto is ‘Fake news you can trust’. This can be seen in its description on all its social media handles.
On the ‘About us’ page on the website archived here, the platform explicitly stated it is satirical.
“The Babylon Bee is the world’s best satire site, totally inerrant in all its truth claims. We write satire about Christian stuff, political stuff, and everyday life,” it reads.
Another of the claim in circulation.
Oregon State University’s guide to literary terms, which is a series of lessons by the lecturers described satire as a literary genre or device that makes someone or something look ridiculous, raising laughter in order to embarrass, humble, or discredit its targets.
It also states that satire when used effectively and appropriately can be a powerful weapon. But it is also a risky one, as there is always the risk it be will read “straight” or superficially.
Apple, when it unveiled the iPhone 13, listed numerous features, but the ability to detect vaccination status, administer vaccination or report unvaccinated persons to the police were neither part of it nor was needing vaccination to unlock the screen stated.
However, Apple stated that the iOS 15 which the phone uses allow users to download and store verifiable digital copy of COVID-19 vaccination and test result records in the health app.
THE VERDICT
The claim in circulation in Nigeria that iPhone 13 requires vaccination to unlock and can secretly vaccinate its user is FALSE. The claim originated from a satirical site.
THE International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), in collaboration with The International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), is organising a webinar on social media regulation in Nigeria.
The webinar, which aims to push advocacy on digital rights in Nigeria, is titled ‘Should Government Regulate Social Media?’ and will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Both organisations have invited members of the public to join the webinar.
The panellists include: Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Gbenga Sesan; Director-General of the National Orientation Agency Garba Abari; Executive Director of Global Rights Biodun Baiyewu, and Affiliate at Berkman Klein Centre for Internet and Society, Havard University, Nana Nwachukwu.
All the speakers have confirmed they will be present at the webinar.
The panellists would provide a clearer understanding of social media regulation and its effect on the nation’s democracy, among others.
Interested members of the public can register for this webinar via HERE
Social media regulation has generated outrage and criticism from many Nigerians in recent times.
In 2019, a bill titled ‘Protection from Internet Falsehoods, Manipulations and Other Related Matters Bill’ was presented at the National Assembly by the Senator representing Niger-East – Mohammed Sani Musa.
The bill, popularly described as the Social Media Bill, passed the second reading on November 20, 2020, and has been described as a threat to freedom of expression.
The Federal Government recently banned micro-blogging platform Twitter after It deleted his Civil War comments targeted at South-East people of Nigeria.
