Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, has expressed his concerns about the devastating effects of misinformation and disinformation.
Development Diaries reports that Keyamo raised the concern at a media workshop organised by the Coalition for Good Governance and Economic Justice in Africa (CGGEJA).
It is understood that the workshop attracted media practitioners, civil society organisations (CSOs), and other stakeholders in the media industry.
It provided a platform for participants to exchange ideas and share experiences on the challenges and opportunities facing the media in Nigeria.
Keyamo, who spoke through his Special Advisor, Niyi Fatogun, argued that misinformation has grown to be a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy, social cohesion, and national security.
‘To kill fake news, it is important to kill fake accounts, fake news is capable of destroying the fabrics of a nation’, he said.
‘Social media owners should be able to identify all their users as a way to tackle fake news’.
The workshop, themed ‘Balancing Ethics and Patriotism: The Obligations of Journalists to their Country’, was aimed at sensitising media practitioners to the importance of ethical and responsible journalism in Nigeria.
The spread of misinformation is a global problem that is empowered by information and communication technology (ICT).
In a 2021 survey conducted by Democracy in Africa (DIA) in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, surveyed Africans said they shared ‘fake news’ with a much higher frequency than Americans do.
In fact, it was a challenge during and after the 2023 elections in Nigeria as some politicians and their supporters were caught spreading false reports.
So Keyamo’s concerns are in order. However, the senior lawyer himself was found to have spread false information in April 2023.
Keyamo, who served as the campaign spokesperson for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), reposted a post on 04 April, 2023, claiming that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, had removed the tweet announcing his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
CDD fact checks Keyamo
In response to this, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) fact checked the claim in the report and found the information to be false.
#FactCheck: Festus Keyamo of the APC claimed Peter Obi deleted a tweet announcing his resignation from the PDP in response to APC’s petition on the 2023 election. @CDDWarRoom checked and found it to be false. Read more: https://t.co/nJxEjCZ46M pic.twitter.com/MrGmUpbBU0
— CDD West Africa (@CDDWestAfrica) April 13, 2023
Section 15 of the Nigeria Cyber Crime Act 2015 provides that anyone found deliberately sharing communication with an intent to cause annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety to another is liable to a fine of N2,000,000 or imprisonment.
However, how well has Nigeria enforced the law?
Development Diaries calls on Nigerians to ensure that they verify information online before sharing it with other users.
Photo source: Festus Keyamo
