Inside Nigeria

ENDSARS: How Fake News, Social Media Misuse Was Used To Stoke Mayhem

Full Text of What Lai Mohammed Told Online Publishers

Shola Oshunkeye December 2, 2020

0 49 9 minutes read

SPEECH BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE, ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED, DURING A MEETING WITH ONLINE PUBLISHERS IN LAGOS ONTUESDAY, 1 DEC. 2020

…Social media was used to guide arsonists and looters

to certain properties, both public and private, during the EndSARS violence. Pictures of celebrities and even non-Nigerians who were supposedly killed at Lekki Toll Gate quickly made the rounds on social media, only for those celebrities to say they are alive, and for discerning Nigerians to disprove many of those listed as killed at

Lekki Toll Gate

Gentlemen of the press, good morning. Thank you for always honouring

our invitation. I have called this meeting so I can brief you on

recent developments across the country, especially in the wake of the

EndSARS protest.

2. As you are all aware, the month of October witnessed the EndSARS

protest by the youth, who were calling for an end to police brutality

and the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The

protest, which started peacefully, later degenerated into violence

after it was hijacked by hoodlums.

3. What were the EndSARS protesters asking for? Their five demands were:

i) Immediate release of all arrested protesters.

ii) Justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and

appropriate compensation for their families.

iii) Setting up an independent body to oversee the investigation and

prosecution of all reports of police misconduct within 10 days.

iv) In line with the new Police Act, psychological evaluation and

retraining (to be confirmed by an independent body) of all disbanded

SARS officers before they can be redeployed.

v) Increase police salary so that they are adequately compensated

for protecting the lives and property of citizens.

4. What was the Federal Government’s Response?

Let me take you through a chronology of the response by the Federal Government:

On 11 Oct: The Inspector-General of Police announced the immediate

disbandment of SARS across the 36 State Police Commands and the

Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

On Oct. 12th: President Muhamadu Buhari addressed the nation, stating:

”The disbanding of SARS is only the first step in our commitment to

extensive police reforms in order to ensure that the primary duty of

the police and other law enforcement agencies remains the protection

of lives and livelihood of our people. We will also ensure that all

those responsible for misconduct or wrongful acts are brought to justice.

On Oct. 13th: The IGP ordered all defunct SARS personnel to report at

the Force Headquarters, Abuja, for debriefing as well as psychological

and medical examination. The officers were to undergo this process as

a prelude to further training and reorientation before being

redeployed into mainstream policing duties. The medical examination

was carried out by the new Police Counselling and Support Unit (PCSU).

On the same day, Oct. 13th: The presidential panel on the reform of

SARS formally accepted the five-point demand of the EndSARS

protesters.

On Oct. 15th: The National Economic Council (NEC) directed the

immediate establishment of State-based Judicial Panels of Inquiry

across the country to receive and investigate complaints of police

brutality or related extra-judicial killings, with a view to

delivering justice for all victims of the dissolved SARS and other

police units. The panel will include representatives of Youths,

Students, Civil Society Organizations and would be chaired by a

respected retired State High Court Judge. The panels have six months

to complete its assignment.

Other decisions by NEC on the Demands:

– State Governors and the FCT Minister should take charge of interface

and contact with the protesters in their respective domains.

– State Governors should immediately establish State-based Special

Security and Human Rights Committees to be chaired by the Governors in their States, and to supervise the newly-formed police tactical units

and all other security agencies located in the States. This will

ensure the protection of citizens’ human rights. Members will also

include Representatives of Youths and Civil Society, as well as the

head of police tactical units in each of the States.

– Establishment, by the Special Committee on Security and Human

Rights, of a Human Rights Public Complaints Team of between 2 to 3

persons to receive complaints on an ongoing basis. That team would be

established by the Special Committee on Security and Human Rights.

– State Governors to immediately establish a Victims Fund to enable

the payment of monetary compensation to deserving victims.

Finally, on the Federal Government’s response, the National Salaries,

Income and Wages Commission was directed to expedite action on the

finalization of the new salary structure of members of the Nigeria

Police Force.

5. Any fair analyst will realize that the Federal Government was not

only responsive but was also very responsible in its handling of the

demands of the EndSARS protesters. We met the five demands. Despite

that, the protest continued and the demands kept expanding, until the

protest was hijacked, leading to unprecedented violence characterized

by killings, maiming, arson, looting etc.

6. We have no scintilla of doubt that the violence that resulted

from the hijack of the EndSARS protest was catalyzed by fake news and

disinformation, which spread like wildfire on social media. And this

did not come to us as a surprise, considering the fact that since

2017, we have been raising the alarm about the dangers of social media

abuse. Remember, gentlemen, that in 2017, we dedicated that year’s

National Council on Information to the issue of fake news, hate speech

and disinformation. The following year, in 2018, we launched the

national campaign against fake news and disinformation, partnering

with a number of print and electronic media organizations

7. Gentlemen, social media was used to guide arsonists and looters

to certain properties, both public and private, during the EndSARS

violence. Pictures of celebrities and even non-Nigerians who were

supposedly killed at Lekki Toll Gate quickly made the rounds on social

media, only for those celebrities to say they are alive, and for

discerning Nigerians to disprove many of those listed as killed at

Lekki Toll Gate

…Checking the abuse of social media is not synonymous with stifling press freedom or free speech. Fake news and disinformation are not the same as free speech.

8. We remain concerned about the abuse of social media, and we

continue to look for ways to ensure a responsible use of the platform.

Once again, we solicit your support in our effort to fight this

menace. As Online Publishers, who rely heavily on the new media, you

will also be doing yourselves a great favour by helping to weed out

those who are abusing it. If things get to a level where people can no

longer trust anything published online, no one stands to lose more

than media practitioners. That’s why we continue to seek your support

on this issue.

9. Talking about social media abuse, on Monday, an online publisher

quoted me as saying Nigeria is at the mercy of Boko Haram. This is

sheer fabrication and an abuse of platform. While in Makurdi, Benue

State, on an official visit, I was asked by journalists to comment on

the killing of farmers in Borno State over the weekend. I said

terrorism is a global problem that requires the collaborative efforts

among nations to combat. I said Nigeria needs the support of global

partners, especially in the area of acquisition of effective platforms

to deal with the terrorists. I recalled that some of the platforms

ordered and paid for by Nigeria have yet to be supplied till date,

thus weakening the war on terror. How these statements translate to

Nigeria being at the mercy of Boko Haram is baffling, and could only

have come from warped minds who are more interested in attracting

traffic to their websites than upholding the truth. Is anyone still in

doubt that something urgent needs to be done to rein in the abuse of

social media? Call it regulation or whatever, we have to do something

most urgently.

…For the umpteenth time, I want to say that this government has no plan to stifle free speech, neither do we have any intention of shutting down the internet as some have claimed. Social media has come to stay, and those who use it responsibly have nothing to fear. But those who abuse it are right to be worried

10. But, as I have always said, checking the abuse of social media

is not synonymous with stifling press freedom or free speech. Fake

news and disinformation are not the same as free speech. For the

umpteenth time, I want to say that this government has no plan to

stifle free speech, neither do we have any intention of shutting down

the internet as some have claimed. Social media has come to stay, and

those who use it responsibly have nothing to fear. But those who abuse

it are right to be worried.

11. On the killing of farmers in Borno, I want to say it is an act of

cowardice and savagery by a group of deranged terrorists, and it does

not reflect the progress being made by the military against Boko

Haram. Going after soft targets is an act of weakness and desperation

by the terrorists, who have suffered huge setbacks in the hands of the

military in recent times. The modus operandi of a losing terror group

is to go after soft targets in order to stay relevant. It’s not only

Boko Haram that does that. In 2019, Al-Shabab attacked DusitD2 Complex in Nairobi, Kenya, killing more than 20. Similarly, the Peshawar

school massacre of 16 December 2014 in Pakistan, carried out by six

gunmen affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, left about 150

people dead, most of them students. The truth is that Boko Haram is

badly degraded and can only carry out cowardly attacks like the one

against defenceless farmers over the weekend. We urge Nigerians not to

lose hope in the capability and commitment of the military to rout the

terrorists. Rather, we should continue to support the men and women in

uniform, who are fighting the terrorists with grit and determination.

On the killing of farmers in Borno, I want to say it is an act of cowardice and savagery by a group of deranged terrorists, and it does not reflect the progress being made by the military against Boko Haram

12. Still talking about fake news and disinformation, the recent

EndSARS protest and the aftermath present a rare opportunity to see

how these twin evils could aggravate issues. For example, the

knee-jerk reactions of some countries were informed by fake news and

disinformation, and varying figures of those purportedly killed in the

hoax massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate are being bandied around. For

example, Parliamentarians in Britain put the figure of those killed at

10, CNN first reported 38 and then lowered the number to 1. And DJ

Switch’s numbers cascaded from 78 dead to 15 to 7!

13. In particular, it is most disheartening that Parliamentarians in

a country with a history of upholding the finest ideals of democracy

will act in such an uninformed manner on an issue such as EndSARS. The quality of the debate at the British Parliament on EndSARS was under par. Fake accusations based on fake news and disinformation were

levelled against the Federal Government by poorly-informed

participants at the debate. One MP even accused former Nigerian leader

Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), who served this country to the best of his

ability, of stealing half of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Sheer

ignorance! The flippant MP, who unfortunately chairs the Foreign

Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons, did a great

disservice to himself, the Committee he chairs and the entire

Parliament by allowing himself to be misled by fake news exponents.

Fittingly, the British Government has distanced itself from him.

14. Even an international broadcaster like CNN was misled by fake

news and disinformation. But CNN has itself to blame for relying on

unauthenticated videos, which it took from social media. Now, CNN is

seeking to save face by trying to clarify its report, which was not

only inaccurate but failed the simple test of balance and fairness.

The attempt to walk back its earlier report has justifiably attracted

the anger of Nigerians. As you all know, the Federal Government has

written a letter to CNN asking it to use its own internal mechanism to

probe its so-called investigative report on the Lekki Toll Gate

incident. We have received an acknowledgement of our letter, saying

the letter has been referred to CNN’s Editorial Team. We await the

outcome of their probe. But CNN has egg on its face for airing an

”exclusive investigation” that is hinged on nothing but fake news.

15. Finally, Gentlemen, I want to speak on the role of the security

agencies during and after the EndSARS protest. The Federal Government commends the security agencies for their professionalism and their restraint, which helped to save many lives. Even in the face of

attacks and provocation, the security agencies, in particular the

police and soldiers, acted within their rules of engagement. The

reporting of the EndSARS protest has been skewed against the security

agencies. While most reports have become fixated on the so-called

massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate, only a few have highlighted the

attacks and killing of security agents, as well as the destruction of

public and private property. I urge you to help in correcting this

unfair reporting.

16. For the record, six soldiers and 37 policemen were killed all

over the country during the crisis. Also, 196 policemen were injured;

164 police vehicles were destroyed and 134 police stations burnt down.

In addition, the violence left 57 civilians dead, 269