By Boluwatife Ezekiel Olaleye
An advocacy group known as the Partnership for
Media and Democracy, has condemned the Nigerian military for its
apparent monitoring of Nigerians on social media, calling on the federal
government to restrain such activities.
Less than 48 hours after President
Muhammadu Buhari hinted of social media animosity in his latest national
broadcast, the Director of Defence Information, Major General John
Enenche, had told Channels Television that the military was now
monitoring the activities of Nigerians on social media for hate speeches
and anti-government rhetoric.
The move became necessary in the light
of “troubling activities and misinformation capable of jeopardizing the
unity of the country,” Enenche said.
But PAMED, which comprises the
International Press Centre (IPC), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), and the
Institute for Media and Society (IMS), believes the action is “a
violation of the rights of Nigerians to freedom of expression and the
privacy of their communications guaranteed by the constitution and
international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a party,” and
that it would lead to “abuse of power” by the military.
PAMED, in its statement released in
Lagos yesterday and signed by the Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade,
Executive Director of MRA, Mr. Edetaen Ojo and Executive Director of
IMS, Dr. Akin Akingbulu, also noted that the move would undermine “the
right of the public to know about the activities of the government
including the security agencies which in a democracy are subordinate to
civil authorities” and lead to the “non-guarantee of the safety of media
professionals, especially online journalists and those covering the
activities of the military.”
The advocacy group called on the
military authorities to immediately rescind its decision and dismantle
any media centres it might have established for such anti-democratic
purposes.
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