2019: Hate speech, fake news, trigger electoral violence, stakeholders warns

Yemi Adedeji, Abuja

The stakeholders said  that there are a lots of individuals and groups that are deliberately creating fake and hate news to cause trouble and provoke violence.

They explained  that as elections approach,  groups specialised in disseminating fake news are intensifying their efforts ahead of the elections, stressing that it is extremely important that Nigerians must verify news items before they act as a basis for action.

The National Coordinator of Peace and Security Network (PSN), Adeolu Adewumi, while speaking on Monday in Abuja at a quarterly Confab series on Preventing Electoral Violence, Hate Speech Versus Free Speech, with the theme; “Fighting Hate Speech Towards 2019 Elections”, said t the workshop was aimed at deepening conversations and also take concrete steps around preventing hate speech and fake news.

According to him, “fake news, hate speech have generated electoral violence  and continue to generate concerns as potential trigger for electoral violence.”

Adewumi added; “Nobody works perfectly under a heated condition. So, what we are doing here is to deepen the conversation to be able to see how we can evade any atmosphere that looks like a heated one for individuals and for the polity going towards 2019 elections,

“I dare say again, no one works effectively under intense heat. That his why it is imperative to sustain the engagement with critical stakeholders towards a common messaging and narrative.”

Also, Member  Nigeria Working Group on Peace Building and Governance, Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim, said that the masses never benefit from electoral violence, but they have always being the victims.

He stated: “I recall the issue we made in Benue state with the Nigerian Bar Association in January, where the governor brought out a press release by the Fulani Nationality Movement, who said they have the right to kill the people of Benue. Since we saw that in January, we investigated this Movement and we found out it does not exist.”

“Somebody, just to flame violence deliberately wrote a fake news release saying that he will deliberately kill people in Benue.”

“In July, when there is conflict in Plateau, exactly the same group issued identical press release saying they had deliberately killed people in Plateau to take over their land. So, what I’m saying is that we have a lot of evidence that certain groups are deliberately creating fake news that will annoy and anger people and push them to violence.”

He stressed that Nigerians need to be very conscious so that they would not  be used as canon folder by people who wants to create misery and suffering, and the minority elites will continue to enjoy.