By: Quadri Yahya
Since a section of Nigerians announced an anti-government nationwide protest, information flow on social media has been a mix of truth and falsehood. Though security concerns have been mounting since the discussion of the planned protest began a few weeks ago online, misinformation is appearing to be a source of a major disruption to the rally.
There have already been protests against the planned protest, and also the sharing of misleading posts to convince others that the protest will lead to violence – a viewpoint many people, including government officials and security agencies, have asserted to deter demonstrators.
Protest: For and Against
Nigerians are divided on staging a protest against an administration that is over a year in government though its bold reforms to ‘renew the hope’ of citizens ended up hitting them hard. But underneath the social debate and activities in the country, misinformation could play a major role in influencing the trajectory of the forthcoming protest.
Misinformation has consequences: The spread of misleading information during Nigeria’s general election in 2023 decimated voters’ trust in the election results — it appears misinformation could have a similar impact as the D-day approaches.
Research also shows that spreads of fake information, like internet shutdowns, equally have devastating consequences during public criticism.
The manipulation game using misinformation has already started: For instance, a viral video claims that ‘angry and hungry’ youth stopped the Oro festival in Ogun State to support the narrative that protests may end in loss of lives and destruction of properties. But the claim making the rounds on social media is not true. Reports show that the crisis occurred in a part of Ogun state as a result of some youth insisting to go ahead with the annual Oro festival despite the government ban on it. According to reports, not less than 20 people were reportedly arrested during the crisis which is not related with the protest against rising cost of living in the country.
Also, amidst the tense atmosphere, misleading claims have been shared on WhatsApp: The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun purportedly asked protesters to start from their state. The police chief dismissed the claim, though the force is requesting for details of organizers of protest as “a standard procedure”.
FactCheckAfrica has also debunked a misleading claim that the police have declared a 4 p.m. curfew for protesters as well as a speech purportedly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In the statement, it was claimed that Tinubu promised a 50% salary cut for government officials, the scrapping of the office of the First Lady, and the restoration of fuel and electricity subsidies. Findings by FactCheck Africa show that the claim is misleading.
#Hashtag, Claims and Lawsuits
Citizens have adopted #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria on X, amongst others hashtags and social platforms, to publicize the protest.
Trending hashtag on X
From the government side, the hashtag constitutes treason. “If they understand the meaning of their hashtags, they will realize they are clarion calls for treason”, Special Adviser to the Presidency on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga said, “Wanting to end an elected government is high treason. Wanting revolution is a call for a coup d’etat, which is also high treason.”
President Tinubu’s aide also accused oppositions of “attempting to call out our people via propaganda” and that supporters of presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi and some other opposition members are behind the protest.
“Two years after ENDSARS, the IPOB and the gullible innocents joined the Labour Party in 2022 to support Peter Obi, a sympathizer of their cause. They are the people spreading the hashtags “EndBad Governance”, “Tinubu Must Go”, and “Revolution2024”. They are not democrats but anarchists. They are attempting to call out our people via propaganda because their Messiah, Peter Obi, failed to win the Presidency in the 2023 election,” Onanuga alleged in a series of tweets.
The opposition said they are likely to sue the President’s aide for making spurious claims.
Civil Societies, Lawyers Back Protest
As the government attempts to dissuade citizens from protesting, civil society organizations have reasserted the rights to peaceful protest.
“Again, your kind attention is equally drawn to the provision of section 91(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022, which states unequivocally that, ‘Notwithstanding any provision in the Police Act, the Public Order Act, and any regulation made thereunder or any other law to the contrary, the role of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps and other security agencies of the federal government in political rallies, processions, and meetings shall be limited to the provision of adequate security,” Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, recently wrote to the IGP, requesting that Nigerians be allowed to stage a protest.
Meanwhile, the lingering concerns of the peaceful protest snowballing into unrest have caused netizens to share various videos of violence scenes to counter any future claim that it is from the upcoming protests. But some people share such videos without its right context or explanatory caption. FactCheckAfrica observed that, in some way, this may contribute to online misinformation and affect the rally.
Edited by Habeeb Adisa
