Nigerian senator warns against social media clampdown
Nigerian senator warns against social media clampdown
Defense Ministry has said military was monitoring social media for comments misleading public about army or government
LAGOS, Nigeria
A
Nigerian senator has criticized attempts by local security agencies to
monitor social media, fearing this could make the country a police
state.
“When security agencies monitor
postings on social media, then we are now in a 'Big Brother state'”,
Shehu Sani, a senator and former civil rights activist, said in a tweet
early Thursday, hours after the army was quoted as saying it was
tracking posts on the social media to ensure that there was no abuse of
free speech
Sani told Anadolu Agency in
a telephone interview that he conceded there were “excesses” in the use
of the social media but he warned against unwholesome clampdown on free
speech and citizens' rights.
The
senator’s remarks come a day after spokesman for the Nigerian Defense
Ministry Maj. Gen. John Enenche said the military was monitoring social
media to “sieve” through comments misleading the public about the army
or the government.
Enenche said such misleading comments and posts were common.
In
a national broadcast on Monday, Buhari said certain posts on social
media had “cross[ed] the national red lines” and said the government
would not tolerate anything that threatens the country's unity
The
government has said hate speech would now attract the same penalties as
terrorism, warning citizens against a replay of the Rwandan experience
in Africa's most populous country with a propensity for ethno-religious
crises.
Critics have understood Buhari’s comment to imply an attempt to clamp down on social media.
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