Ribadu blames some of Nigeria’s challenges on fake news, social media

Nuhu Ribadu, a former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commits (EFCC), has blamed most of the country’s challenges on fake news peddled on social media.

Mr Ribadu said this, on Sunday, in Abuja, while reacting to reports in the social media that he accused some top government functionaries of sponsoring banditry in the country.

The former EFCC boss, who spoke at a news conference, said it was time for him to clear the air on the issue, which he said had been on for some time.

“July 2019 was the first time I came out to know about it, and I came out with a very strong denial, saying that it was a fabrication and had no basis.

“It was a piece of rubbish with very bad grammar and factual destruction but indeed very damaging.

“I reacted very strongly after that, it didn’t stop and I was forced again to issue a statement denying it.

“I thought that would have been the end of it, but not long afterwards, it started coming back again and I am worried and concerned,” he said.

Mr Ribadu said globally, people who were worried and concerned and wanted to fact-check had been getting in touch with him, adding that he had continued to respond to the issue every single day.

“I want to again deny in the strongest terms and send a message to everybody to disregard the statements, it is not fair, it is not just.

“It is very sinful for you to create something from nowhere and attribute it to an innocent person who doesn’t know anything about it, I have nothing to do with that message.

“This is my strongest denial, everybody should please disregard the statement: it is not from me, it is not true,” Mr Ribadu stressed.

Mr Ribadu said he had been inundated by messages from friends and associates who wanted to find out if the tweets on the issue were actually from him.

He, however, said he had made a formal complaint to law enforcement agencies for the records, and possibly for them to go after those responsible for the act.

Mr Ribadu said it was the responsibility of the state to take action in such situations.

“Social media is today, partly responsible for what is going on in our country by trying to promote things that are not true and creating division based on religion and ethnicity among others things.

“They are not being fair to us, and I think the government has a duty and a responsibility to take action, nobody else can do it.

“As private citizens,we have limited capacity to take action, the government has to,” Mr Ribadu said.

He said whoever was responsible for accusing him of such lies, was being very unfair and unjust to him and had hurt him a lot.

He, therefore, called on owners of social media to do something to protect innocent people from suffering unjustly because of lies told against them on their platforms.

He added that a combination of government, established media outfits and social media companies could do something to address the situation.

“Social media companies also have a role to play, I don’t see any reason why Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will allow such a damaging statement to go out against somebody without stopping it.

“Even though I had denied it and so many people in the same situation did, WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter still allowed it to be moved around from one platform to the other,” he said.

Mr Ribadu said he, however, has great regards for the print media and established television stations which he noted had refused to be part of peddling fake news like most social media.

According to him, social media is doing a lot of damage to the people and nation.

He said that the danger of fake news peddled mostly on social media could not be underestimated, saying that it cost the genocide in Rwanda, where close to a million people died.

The former EFCC boss said the same thing happened in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

He said that fake news portends very serious danger and could actually harm a country and its people because of its very dangerous consequences.

He said those behind it were doing evil to their people and to their countries, adding that there was no benefit for them.

“I am a believer of freedom of expression, a strong and firm believer in the ability of people to be free, but at the same time, be responsible.

“If it is going to cause harm to others, then you lose that freedom.

“I am a victim, and I don’t know why people are doing it, it’s as if I am a target of something which I don’t know.

“But I have really suffered because of it; I have a couple of friends and colleagues who also went through the same thing,” he said.

Mr Ribadu said it was unfortunate that some persons out of nowhere, would create a lie and innocent people would consume and believe it.

He noted that a lot of people acted on fake news which had caused them a lot of danger.

(NAN)