On Saturday, at the South African High Commission in Abuja, the Federal Government debunked reports of a bomb explosion circulating on social media.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the report in a statement issued in Abuja “is fake news orchestrated by desperate opposition to cause panic and chaos among the populace”.
Segun Adeyemi, the minister’s special adviser, signed the statement.
Mr Mohammed said the video of the alleged bomb explosion was that of a bomb explosion on June 25, 2014 at Emab Plaza near Banex, Abuja.
The minister said it was evident that the hopeless opposition had chosen to use fake news and disinformation as useful instruments in their avowed determination to render Nigeria ungovernable by losing heavily in the elections.
“A pattern is emerging of the antics of the desperate opposition to latch on to the use of fake news and disinformation as a strategy to trigger chaos in the country.
“On Friday Sept. 6, 2019, they doctored and circulated the video of my appearance on Channels Television in January 2015 (when I was the spokesman of the APC) to make it look like I was begging Nigerians to forgive President Buhari for not having a school certificate.
“Worse still, they posted the video afresh, giving the impression it happened last Thursday and that I acted in my capacity as Minister of Information and Culture.
“One would have expected a party that trumpets its belief in the rule of law, a party that challenged the result of the last presidential election in court, to wait patiently for the impending judgment instead of engaging in underhand tactics and resorting to self-help,” he said.
The minister appealed to Nigerians at this moment to be very discerning and to verify the truthfulness of any information they obtained.
“This is just the beginning. Nigerians should expect an explosion of fake news and disinformation in the days and weeks ahead,’’ he said.
The Minister advised those behind fake news and disinformation campaign orchestration to halt or be made to face the music promptly.
