Katsina #ENDSARS judicial panel has concluded arrangements to commence public hearing to be rotated in each of the three senatorial zones from Monday, November 23 by 9am daily.
Chairman of the panel, Justice Abbas Bawale, told newsmen in the panel, as at the weekend, had received 61 petitions from various individuals.
Bawale, who is also a Judge from the High Court, further disclosed the panel will use this week to formally write and summon complainants and the defendants to appear before it during the sittings.
He said: ‘’The panel will begin its public hearing from Funtua zone where a majority of the petitions emanated from, and thereafter, the hearings would be held in Katsina and Daura zones.
The panel will complete the public hearings within a week and complete its work within the stipulated time given to do so. We shall not request for an extension of time from the state government.
Presently, we have 56 petitions from Funtua zone of the state and 5 petitions from Katsina zone.
Last week, we were at Daura where we paid courtesy call on the Emir, Dr. Faruq Umar and sought for his support and assistance on our assignment.
We had earlier paid similar courtesy call on the Emir of Katsina, Dr. Abdulmumin kabir Usman. We are expecting petitions from Daura zone, too. For now, we have a total of 61 petitions in all.
Definitely, by Monday, 23rd, November, we shall begin public hearing from Funtua zone and thereafter, move to Katsina and Daura zones.
We shall be sitting from zone to zone to ensure that all parts of the state are covered and taken care of. We are here to do justice to all the petitions and we encourage people to turn up.
There is a counsel attached to the panel to assist the petitioners in their presentation of cases. But the complainants and the defendants are free to have own counsel.
The Commander of 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, Lagos, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Taiwo, says contrary to claims in the public, the Army is not after popular disc jockey, Obianuju Catherine Udeh, fondly referred to as DJ Switch.
General Taiwo said this on Saturday in his testimony before the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the alleged shooting of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020.
The general said, “Some people take delight in misrepresenting Nigeria and particularly the Nigerian Army to the international community and our fellow Nigerians. This, I believe is done for pecuniary gains. Quite recently, a Nigerian, Catherine Udeh, also known as DJ Switch, claimed the Nigerian Army was looking for her. There is nothing further than the truth.
My Lord, we have bigger fish to fry and that is how to stabilise Lagos. We can’t be bothered chasing one or two people. Where she got that from, I do not know.”
DJ Switch claimed to have helped to remove bullets from peaceful protesters who were shot at Lekki tollgate, according to her Instagram Live feed.
There have also been reports that the disc jockey sought asylum outside the country after she claimed that her life was being threatened following the Lekki incident.
President Buhari’s media aide, Femi Adesina, has said that if President Buhari hadn’t exercised the restraint and tolerance of a father, blood would have flowed in the wake of the EndSARS protest.
According to Adesina, Nigerians would have been talking about something else in the wake of the crisis that enveloped the country after the #EndSARS protests were hijacked by hoodlums, which led to the loss of public and private businesses.
“There is truly a huge difference between an instructor, a tutor, and a father. One is a hireling, procured to pass knowledge, while the other is an insider, an interested party who is “pater familias,” (as my late dad would say).
All through the EndSARS protest and the riots, mayhem and looting that followed, President Buhari acted like a father. And though we have millions of instructors in this country, we have not many fathers. President Buhari is one.
If President Buhari hadn’t exercised the restraint and tolerance of a father, at a time that even hitherto respected people instigated the protesters to carry on (and they promptly went underground when anarchy ensued), we would have been talking of something else in the country,” he said.
As revealed by Oyo state governor via his social media page, Governor Seyi Makinde stated the following;
“This afternoon, we inaugurated the Oyo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police Brutality, Violation of Rights of Citizens and Unlawful Killings. The panel is made up of eleven (11) members led by Justice Bolajoko Adeniji (retired), as Chairman of the Panel.”
“Members of the panel are drawn from the legal community, the National Human Rights Commission, the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP), the National Youth Council of Nigeria, youth representatives of End SARS protesters and the community.”
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced the plan to abolish payment of pension and other entitlements to former governors of the state and their deputies.
Sanwo-Olu revealed this while presenting the 2021 budget to the Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday. He said his administration has submitted a bill to the state house of assembly to repeal the Public Office Holder (Payment of Pension Law 2007).
The governor’s Senior Special Assistant on New media, Jubril Gawat, also confirmed the development in a tweet. He wrote:
“Governor of Lagos State, Mr Jide Sanwo-Olu has announced his intention, through executive bill, to repeal the public office holder (Payment of Pension Law 2007), which provides for payment of pension & other entitlements to former governors and their deputies.”
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that if the bill is passed by the State House of Assembly, former Governor of the state, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and others will be affected.
DJ Switch shares experience of Lekki toll gate massacre.
She shared her experience with a sub- committee on international human right , of the standing committee on foreign affairs and international development of the Canadian parliament.
Video of DJ Switch recounting her experience on 20th of October, 2020.
Rinu Oduala, a brand strategist, is one of the prominent activists of the #EndSARS campaign. She made the following known;
In a country in which the people have been voiceless for a long time, people holding the government accountable is being seen as too much? How can we then ensure and encourage people to build a new Nigeria?… How do you expect me, as a part of the future of this country, to still believe in a country that thinks it has the right, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to freeze my account for no just cause?
I am part of a generation of Nigerians who have lived most of their adult lives under ‘democratic’ rule and yet, I wake up feeling there is no difference between the Nigeria I grew up in, and the Nigeria my parents grew up in. The sacrifices of the democrats who bravely stood for the June 12 mandate to bring our democracy to life seem to be in vain. Ironically, many of them are serving in the present government in Nigeria and the ruling party.
Everywhere I turn, I am told that I should be ‘grateful’ for a democracy in which lives were lost, I should be thankful that I have a voice and I can speak up for myself and my peers. But how can I be grateful when young men and women disappear every day; some killed recklessly without cause, while others get scarred for life — physically, emotionally, or both?
When we began to protest, it was because young Nigerians had decided to speak up.
We spoke up – not because we wanted to overthrow the government but because we wanted the police to stop killing us. We did not carry arms, or incite any insurrection. Our only weapon was peaceful protest, as enshrined in Section 40 of our 1999 Constitution. At every point we maintained calm and educated our followers – reiterating throughout the protests that we were not there to fight the government but to ask for change and to follow through to make sure that change was effected.
We believed that somehow we would be spared from the systemic violence and breakdown of social order that was the direct result of the government’s actions. Unfortunately we were mistaken.
…I took up the role of a youth representative at the detriment of my education, personal life and family. I did this to make peace. I did this to ensure our young people understood that the only way to create a better and safer Nigeria is to do things lawfully. Why am I still being targeted for lending the government my good will?
I volunteered to receive donations for our cause by Nigerians at home and abroad, who felt helpless to personally protest but believed they could make a difference through financial sacrifices. Such was the passion of average Nigerians to contribute how best they could to the #EndSARS cause, that they found my personal account number and sent in what they could sacrifice towards the cause. Some people even sent as little as ₦500; all they could spare towards the cause. To have their sacrifices rubbished by government and their motivations questioned is disheartening because the raised funds, including over N200,000 gathered from my business, were meant to be disbursed to attend to the medical bills of injured protesters.
We called for, among other things, a probe into the killings and torture of people and the government agreed to this by setting up judicial panels. In order to assure young people of the independence and fairness of the panels, I took up the role of a youth representative at the detriment of my education, personal life and family. I did this to make peace. I did this to ensure our young people understood that the only way to create a better and safer Nigeria is to do things lawfully. Why am I still being targeted for lending the government my good will?
I am not part of Nigeria’s political or business elite. I have no relatives in government or family members with enough wealth to sway powerful individuals. I am just an ordinary young Nigerian. I study, sell hoodies and other clothing for about ₦5,000 a piece to pay my school fees. I also do the odd bit of freelancing, taking on some brand influencing work to ensure my family doesn’t suffer. Somehow, however, my existence threatens my government; the fact that I have a voice is enough for them to try to silence me.
In the Nigeria I am fighting for, it wouldn’t matter that I am the child of nobody, coming from the average Nigerian home. The Nigeria I am fighting for is one that prioritises every voice, and protects every inalienable right; including mine.
Nigeria is all I have, and I have a right to demand that it works for all of us, not just those with influence, wealth, or government positions.
I decided to use the only currency I have, my voice, to speak up against extrajudicial killings, torture, extortion and unjust harassment that are still happening in a democratic nation in the 21st century! The government also agreed that reform is inevitable and promised us they were going to listen to us, so why punish the same people who are speaking up?
I am not afraid. I am only disappointed that this country will treat me this way.
Nigeria is all I have, and I have a right to demand that it works for all of us, not just those with influence, wealth, or government positions.
In a country in which the people have been voiceless for a long time, people holding the government accountable is being seen as too much? How can we then ensure and encourage people to build a new Nigeria? A Nigeria that will be filled with accountable government officials, where all forms of oppressions and injustice are things of the past. How do you expect me, as a part of the future of this country, to still believe in a country that thinks it has the right, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to freeze my account for no just cause?
This is not fair. But we will make it fair. Otherwise, there is no future for my generation and the generations to come.
Some coordinators of the #EndSARS movement in Osun State have given the state government a seven-working day ultimatum to increase the salaries and allowances of its workers.
The movement, on Friday, in a statement co-signed by its Spokesperson, Olawale Bakare and Mobilisation Secretary, Olushayo Ogunleye, rejected the recent increase in salaries announced by the government and demanded a review.
The group said only five per cent increase was effected on the basic salaries of workers.
The statement read in part, “This height of hypocrisy owing to the recent fraudulent five per cent increase in the basic salary of workers from level 7 and beyond (sic). By implication, the workers being paid the paltry sum of N15,000 will now have just N750 added to their basic salary. This is sadly what Mr Governor wants to be worshipped for.
“We hereby reject this fraudulent and enslaving mode of payment, and demand an increased review of the salaries and allowances of Osun State workers, within the next seven working days.”
They also called on Governor Adegboyega Oyetola to give each of the families of the two people killed during the #EndSARS protest in the state a sum of N10 Million.
“Failure to address the aforementioned demands within seven working days, Mr Governor Gboyega Oyetola should resign and allow a more competent and humane leader to govern the state,” the statement read.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to Nigerians to continue to understand and bear with them as they strive to fulfill promises made to them.
The appeal was made in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on Friday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed who represented the President.
He spoke at a town hall meeting with traditional rulers, youths, market men and women as well as other stakeholders where the fall out of the #EndSARS protest was discussed.
In his explanation, Mohammed noted that the Buhari administration is dealing with the challenge of scarce resources hence may not have impacted Nigerians as planned or would have loved to do.
He also added that the global COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected resources available to the government and therefore appealed for perseverance, understanding, and patience from Nigerians.
In his words “If we have not done enough or we have not touched everybody, we appeal that you please bear with us. In the first instance, what we have is less than 60 per cent of the revenue that was available to other governments that came before us.
We all know what we suffered during COVID-19, and as we are just trying to recover from this we also face another crisis.We appeal that you should please assist the government and be patient.
This government is dedicated to serving the people and we will continue to try our best to do so.
“I thank you all for your perseverance, understanding and patience,” he said.
President Buhari receives Lagos State Governor, H.E Babajide Sanwo-Olu this afternoon, at the State House, Abuja. The Governor during the meeting presented a reports of the aftermath of the recent #EndSARS Protest in his State.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said Sanwo-Olu told him the state would need N1trn for reconstruction in the aftermath of the destruction caused by hoodlums who hijacked the #EndSARS protests.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce said, in a statement, that estimated economic losses during the #EndSARS protests were at N700 billion.
The Governor had established the Lagos State Rebuilding Trust Fund and set up an eight-man Board to coordinate efforts to restore lost assets.
Nollywood actress and human right activist, Dr Omotola Jalade Ekeinde has taken to her Instagram page to address the misconception of a statement she made concerning the families of Lekki toll gate massacre victims. According to the statement , she urged the families of the victims to appear publicly to prove that their family members were truly killed.
However, the statement she made did not go well with alot of people , as they thought she was trying to invalidate the claim that a massacre truly happened. Below are some statements Omotola posted on her Instagram page , a day after the massacre (21st of October,2020) to appreciate Nigerian youths.
After the serious criticisms her statements about the families of victims triggered , Omotola released a video to explain her intentions and how much she is hurt. Watch the video below.
Mohammed Adamu, Inspector-General of Police, has said that his officers did not use force on peaceful #EndSARS protesters, rejecting a report from Amnesty International that over the issue.He made the denial in a statement on Friday.
Adamu said, “During the protests, officers of the Force used legitimate means to ensure that the protests were carried out in a peaceful manner and in most cases, physically protected and walked side-by-side with the protesters.
“Even when the protests turned violent in some parts of the country, the officers still maintained utmost restraint and did not use excessive force in managing the situations.
“Available Reports show that 22 police personnel were extra-judicially killed by some rampaging protesters and scores injured during the protests. Many of the injured personnel are in life-threatening conditions at the hospitals.
“205 police stations and formations including other critical private and public infrastructure were also damaged by a section of the protesters.
“Despite these unprovoked attacks, our police officers never resorted to use of unlawful force or shooting at the protesters as alleged in the report.
“It is also beggars imagination that Amnesty International failed to mention or pay tribute to Police officers who were gruesomely murdered during the protests while serving their fatherland.
“The Force decries the discriminatory tendencies exhibited by Amnesty International as seen in the report. One wonders if in the estimation of Amnesty International, police officers are not also human beings equally entitled to the protection of their fundamental rights to life and dignity of human person.”
#Endsars protesters in Osun State have accused the Osun state government of influencing and manipulating members of the judicial panel of enquiry to listen to cases of extrajudicial activities of security personnel in the state.
The protesters also accused the government of sponsoring an unknown body to impersonate the protesters and pledge allegiance to the state government.
The protesters in a statement released by its spokesperson, Olawale Bakare (Mandate); Mobilisation Secretary, Olushayo Ogunleye; and Chairperson, Finance/Welfare Committee, Queen Fisayo; said it received with huge shock the announcement of the suspension of the protest.
Describing the judicial panel as “unpopular and controversial egression”, the youth said the panel is vested to defend the government’s interest against the people.
The #ENDSARS protesters therefore demanded that the membership of the panel be reviewed.
They said, “We demand that the membership of this panel be immediately reviewed. Many of the characters being appointed have never been part of the demonstrations so far and their antecedent is loud enough to stand them out of any pro-masses activity.
“The members of the panel such as the members of the ignoble and shady Nigeria Police Force that we are still battling with are present in the panel. The reprobatory and unsavoury member of the Bench is also in that panel; meanwhile none of the active protesters are neither in the panel nor satisfactorily represented.
“These people, we believe, don’t understand the plight of the masses because they have never been on the part of the masses.
“They say he who pays the piper dictates the tune. The fact that the government of Osun pays each panelist N100,000 per sitting is nothing but an attempt to buy their voices and further buttress the heinous agenda to promote the government’s interest against the people.”
The group stated that the impersonators were never part of the protesters neither were they part of the decision makers of the #ENDSARS protest in Osun State.
The group added, “In fact, they were brought from nowhere to misrepresent we the genuine protesters.
“This set of persons were handpicked by the government so they could do their illicit bidding, cause confusion and mislead the public.
“We will like to put this in clear terms, that these set of characters should desist from impersonation as the Movement won’t hesitate to engage in legal actions to prosecute these potential criminals.
“Let it be known that the revolutionary train of EndSARS, Osun State is no respecter of anybody, we are loyal to nothing or nobody but justice and humanity.”
The youth, however, urged the state government to desist from using cheap blackmail and the misrepresentation of the protesters’ position to mislead the public, cause confusion and bury their political misdemeanour.
It advised the government to address the matter raised by the protest rather than resorting to contracting some persons, who parade themselves as #EndSARS protesters to dish out government-sponsored press statements.
A lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, has filed a N10bn fundamental rights suit against President Muhammadu Buhari, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, and 10 others over last Tuesday night shootings at #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos.
In the suit before the Federal High Court in Lagos, Ogungbeje is urging the court to declare that “the brutal shooting and killing and use of brute force against unarmed, defenceless and peaceful protesters/Nigerian citizens engaging in the #ENDSARS peaceful protest on October 20, 2020, at the Lekki tollgate was illegal, unlawful, undemocratic, oppressive, wicked and unconstitutional.”
Ogungbeje wants the court to compel the defendants to “immediately pay N10bn compensation to all the victims of the mindless shooting and brutal killing at Lekki tollgate.”
According to him, the unleashing of brutal force and shooting at the peaceful protesters were a violation of the protesters’ constitutional “right to life, fair hearing, right to peaceful assembly and association guaranteed under sections 33, 36, 38, 39 and 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.”
Ogungbeje is urging the court to make an order “compelling the immediate prosecution of all the culpable security agents, soldiers and persons directly or indirectly or remotely involved in the dastardly shooting and killing of unarmed, defenceless and peaceful protesters/victims of the #ENDSARS peaceful protests at the Lekki Tollgate on the 20th of October 2020.”
Apart from Buhari and Buratai, also joined as defendants in the suit are the Federal Government, the Nigerian Army, Chief of Defence Staff, Inspector-General of Police; Nigeria Police Force; State Security Service; Director-General, SSS; Lagos State Government; Attorney General of Lagos State; and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) has asked the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to withdraw its sanctions against three TV stations for their coverage of the #EndSARS crisis, saying the regulator took action
BON is the main association of public and private broadcasters in the country.The chairman of the association, Sa’a Ibrahim says in a statement published today that the organisation believes NBC must follow due process before taking action.
“BON wishes to call on the NBC to issue a formal query to each of the stations involved and give [them a] stipulated period to formally respond before taking the application of sanction laws,” the statement says.
“Therefore, we kindly request that the sanctions on AIT, Channels TV and Arise TV be withdrawn immediately pending formal responses by stations.”
NBC fined AIT, Channels TV and Arise TV N3 million each yesterday. The regulator said the TV stations contravened the Nigeria Broadcasting Code pertaining to ‘editorial responsibility’.
“Channels TV, Arise TV and AIT especially continued to transmit [footage] from unverified and unauthenticated social media sources,” said NBC.
The regulator said the footage shown by the three stations ‘stimulated anger’ and ‘heightened the violence’ but activists point to the freedom of the press and say the regulator’s descriptions threaten that freedom.
Activists at SERAP yesterday told NBC to cancel the sanctions or the nonprofit will challenge the sanctions in court.
Ariyo-Dare Atoye of the Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy also told newsmen that the public “must see the latest action of the NBC, done at the command of the Minister for Information and the federal government, as a threat to free press, free speech and democratic governance.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has said that his group has located the barracks where soldiers who shot protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, came from.
Falana, in an interview on Monday, said that his group, Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 And Beyond (ASCAB), located the barracks from the investigation conducted so far. He added that the investigation revealed that security forces were actually deployed to the scene of the protest last week Tuesday.
The Human rights lawyer noted that facts available to the group show that soldiers actually fired shots at the tollgate and young protesters have died from those shots.
Falana said that the group has set up an independent National Citizens Panel of Inquiry to investigate the shooting of protesters at Lekki Toll Plaza on October 20. He said the panel would consist of organizations of the youth, civil society organizations that took part in the #Endsars protest movement,
He said the President was likely to have been told that soldiers were ordered so that was the reason he failed to address the shooting in his national broadcast to the nation.
He, however, condemned the Federal Government for lacking respect for the rule of law and citizens’ rights to protest. Falana said that constant denials from the federal government and its agencies clearly show the government does not value the lives of its citizens.
The Emir of Dutse in Jigawa State, Dr. Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi has said disbanding SARS is not a solution to the alleged police brutality in the country.
The emir disclosed this when he received the Minister of Water Resources, Engineer Suleiman Adamu at his palace in Dutse, the state capital.
He said the scrapping of SARS by the Nigeria police force will not be the permanent solution to the alleged police brutality until the recruitment and training process is corrected.
He explained that lack of adequate training and corruption in the recruitment process in the Nigeria police force were the main causes of the recent tension in the country.
“Whatever name you changed SARS to, it will not change anything, unless the police recruitment and training process is changed.
“Initially, traditional rulers were involved in police recruitment process in order to ascertain the behavior and character of each candidate.
“And we have to train and retain our police officers on how best they can use arms and resolve crisis without using force.
“Security forces nowadays don’t have knowledge on how to amicably resolve issues but using gun power.
“Recently, three persons were shot dead by police in Dutse in a simple case that can be resolved easily.
“If they were involving traditional rulers in all aspects of crisis management, most of these problems could not have happened and at times, even if you talk to them, they would not listen”
Earlier, the Minister of Water Resources, Eng Sulaiman Hussain Adamu who visited the Emir at his palace in Dutse said president Muhammadu Buhari was worried over the unfortunate destruction and looting that followed the EndSARS protests across the country.
The President, however, called on the traditional, religious and community leaders to continue to enlighten the people on peace and unity in the country.
The lawmaker representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa Federal Constituency in Oyo State at the House of Representatives, Mr Shina Peller, tells LEKE BAIYEWU about his efforts to get the #EndSARS protesters out of the streets, using celebrities in the entertainment sector
You appeared in all-black attire to the House. What inspired your dressing this way?
I decided to wear all-black and I am going to do that for the next three days purposely to mourn the victims of Black Tuesday; the event that happened at the Lekki Tollgate where we lost Nigerians who were patriots and had stood so firm to fight in a constitutional way – through protests – to show their displeasure with police brutality and inhuman behaviour by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. These were people protesting peacefully and they (soldiers) fired at them. I felt it was high time I sympathised with them and showed a sort of respect, especially for the departed. I felt very bad. I was at the protest ground on the previous day and I spoke to a few of them. To realise that some of the people I spoke to were assaulted and shot at the same place that I visited, is something that breaks me down so deeply. Every time I remember all that happened, the process, talking to them and everything, it breaks me down.
You are a major stakeholder in the entertainment and hospitality sectors and many of the people who led the protests are entertainers. How have you used your influence to manage the crisis, especially in the National Assembly?
As you know, there are rules in the National Assembly and what we do as federal legislators include moving motions and sponsoring bills. The issue on the ground is of urgent public importance. In the House, I have taken steps. There was a motion I referred to when I was talking to people at the protest ground. It was a joint motion that was meant to be moved by a few members and me, especially the Chairman of the Young Parliamentarians’ Forum, Hon. Kabir Tukura. We took the right step for that to be done. But like I said, the House has its rules and the Speaker has the right to call whoever he chooses to allow to speak. The issue is a pressing issue and everybody will always feel that they have an opinion. But there are rules and we have a presiding officer who chooses to call on whoever he wishes, to contribute to that particular matter.
The two and a half week-long #EndSARS protests in Nigeria against police brutality has garnered attention and raised awareness far beyond the country’s borders thanks to a savvy well-planned out campaign, boosted by Nigerian and global celebrities. But none of this would have been possible without the sheer reach and immediacy of major social media platforms.
The peaceful protest started online using the #EndSars hashtag before spreading quickly to thousands of people joining protests on the streets of Nigeria’s big cities and then London, Toronto, Houston, and elsewhere, again thanks to social media.
But all social media is not created equal.
The campaign to shut down controversial and brutal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) thrived on Twitter in particular and a series of significant EndSARS hashtags trended globally and had millions of retweets. Even Twitter’s enigmatic founder Jack Dorsey joined young Nigerians in encouraging the global Twitter community to donate to the protest organizers using bitcoin.
Twitter gave the EndSARS hashtag an official emoji and verified the Twitter accounts of several users at the forefront of the protest. This act of support contributed to the credibility of the protest and boosted the protest both online and offline.
But even as the hashtag picked up steam and shared by the likes of Kanye West and Rihanna, over on Facebook and Instagram some of the posts with the #EndSARS hashtag was being incorrectly labeled as “fake news.”
To make things worse, these “fake news” labels by Facebook and Instagram inadvertently helped to promote a self-serving anti-fake news campaign by the Nigerian Army, which has come under intense scrutiny after men in military uniforms opened fire on unarmed peaceful protestors at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on Tuesday. The Nigerian Army has claimed its soldiers were not involved in what some have labeled a “massacre” despite plenty of video evidence. Many Nigerians now perceive its moves as government propaganda to discredit the #EndSARS protest.
The Nigerian Army had during the EndSARS protest launched “Operation Crocodile Smile” which it claimed is cyber warfare that includes identifying and countering fake news against the Nigerian government. When the Army was accused of shooting at protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos three days ago, they labeled social media and news media reports of these claims as fake news. This is despite circulations of pictures, videos, and eyewitness reports backing claims of soldiers shooting at the protesters.
“It seems clear the social media platform’s algorithms are completely falling to differentiate between genuine posts and fake news, causing harm to users and serving as evidence that those algorithms simply are not up to the job of fact-checking when large scale breaking news event occurs,” explained Ray Walsh, a digital privacy analyst at ProPrivacy based in the UK.
To be clear, there have been dozens of supposedly pro-EndSARS posts and photos shared on the most popular social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp (also owned by Facebook) which have been flagged as false or as misleading by the protest organizers themselves in a bid to avoid the movement’s credibility being tarnished. The open nature of social media means it is difficult to control or manage the sources of information whether it is legitimate or otherwise.
“Instagram and Facebook must make every effort to ensure that genuine posts containing important information about the government’s actions are not being unfairly flagged as fake news,” says Walsh.
Though Instagram’s public relations team has since released a statement of apology on Twitter admitting it incorrectly flag content supporting #EndSARS and marking them as false. It says the issue has now been resolved, but supporters of the protest have slammed Facebook for actively helping the Nigerian government refute allegations about the shooting.
It’s just the latest example of the challenge social media’s executives face in how to make decisions when it comes to preventing the spread of misleading information. Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg, in particular, is under scrutiny and pressure in the run-up to the US elections on Nov. 3. Twitter has run into major controversy in the US by attempting to block users sharing a news story which it claimed was misleading and it has taken to labeling tweets with fact-check tags.
In Nigeria, Dorsey has even been accusing of inciting violence by actively supporting the funding of the mostly peaceful #EndSARS protests. Adamu Garba, a former presidential candidate tweeted that he has charged Dorsey to a Nigerian court and he is demanding a compensation of $1 billion to be paid to the Nigerian government for the loss of lives, properties & convenience during the EndSARS protest. Garba, a controversial Twitter user is also demanding that a court order is given to stop Twitter from operating in Nigeria.
President Buhari has reportedly revealed that 69 persons were killed in the #EndSARS protest across the country.
BBC reported that the Nigerian President disclosed this during a virtual meeting with former leaders and security chiefs on Friday October 23. He said that 51 civilians, 11 police officers, and seven soldiers were killed in the unrest.
Buhari was quoted saying in a statement released by Femi Adesina that the killing came off an “initial genuine and well-intended protest of youths which was hijacked and misdirected”.
It was further gathered that the Nigerian President who stated that his administration will not allow miscreants and criminals to continue to perpetrate acts of hooliganism in the country, accused the protesters of refusing to call off the protest in spite of meeting their demands.
The statement read;
Unfortunately, the protesters refused to call off the protest and engage the government to address their grievances. Instead, they became emboldened and gradually turned violent.
We shall also continue to ensure that liberty and freedom, as well as the fundamental rights of all citizens are protected. Here, I want to also reaffirm our commitment to preserving the unity of this country.
“The President thanked the former Heads of State for attending the meeting and their invaluable comments, observations and advice, adding that ‘Nigerians expect nothing less from responsible statesmen’.
Each of the former leaders commended President Buhari for steps taken so far to restore calm and order to the country and also applauded the presidential broadcast of Thursday as detailed and soothing to the country.
The former heads of state were unanimous in their view that generation of employment and growing the economy including through direct foreign investments were critical to checking youth restiveness.
The former heads of state also condemned the divisive and inciting pronouncements of separatists and were of the opinion that such acts should be stopped.
Equally, the former leaders commended the actions taken by governors to address the demands of the ENDSARS protesters and their efforts to check the excesses of those who perpetrated violent acts and conduct.
Finally, they called on youths to pursue peaceful means, in seeking redress through engagement with government and encouraged further conversation with the youths and other stakeholders in the country.”
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