- The decision of the Federal Government to monitor social media posts of notable Nigerians has been greeted with outrage
- Notable Nigerians and groups have condemned the move of the government
- The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has interpreted the move to mean muzzling opposition figures
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the Federal Government was planning to muzzle the opposition with its threat to clamp down on users of social media who engaged in hate speech.
The PDP was reacting to the decision of the Federal Government to monitor social media posts of notable Nigerians.
The government said it came up with the policy to monitor and curb hate speech among the elite.
PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbodiyan, says the plan by the federal government is meant to muzzle opposition elements. Source: Twitter
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In an interview with Punch newspaper, the national publicity secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said it would be wrong for the government to hide under the allegation of hate speech to arrest people with opposing views.
His words: “The government must first of all define what is hate speech. It must tell Nigerians what constitutes hate speech.
“There is no way members of the opposition like the PDP and even progressives members of the APC will not condemn or criticise the government and the APC when they fail to live up to expectations.
“We will not allow them to instil fear into us as a party. We all know what and how the APC came into power with false propaganda, using the social media.
“Now that they know that they have performed poorly and elections are coming, they think they can use that threat to scare us from doing our job. That will fail.”
In reaction, the national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Cogress (APC), Bolaji Abdullahi, said though he had yet to know the details of the policy as explained by the defence minister, the ruling party would not support any law meant to stifle free speech among Nigerians.
“I don’t have details of what the honourable minister said but I can tell you that the APC will not be a party to anything that will abridge the rights of citizens to free speech,” the APC spokesman said.
“We also subscribe to the principles of responsible freedom of the press as enshrined in the constitution,” he added.
Meanwhile, Senator Shehu Sani has slammed the plan by the federal government to monitor the activities of prominent citizens on social media.
In a tweet on Friday, January 26, the APC lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the upper chamber, described the move as a waste of energy.
According to him, if the energy for monitoring social media is properly channeled, the country would be safer.
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Source: Naija.ng