By Uche Amunike
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar has, during the 7th executive committee meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, held in Bornu State, Maiduguri, described social media as a terrorist organization.
Speaking during the meeting, the monarch said that Nigerians must not allow false information and fabricated stories on social media, worsen the country’s fragile security situation.
Hear him: ‘What happened has happened. It can’t come and be through social media. That’s one terrorist organization…social media. Social media is a terrorist organization.’
‘What they do… somebody will sit in his comfort zone and formulate stories and you will think that it is true. So, social media is a terrorist organization that we must deal with.’
‘Security agencies must deal with this terrorist organization called social media.’
According to the Sultan, the rate at which Plateau State and other regions in the country are attacked has become worrisome and requires to be given urgent attention.
Speaking through a statement on Monday, human rights group, Amnesty International, said that Plateau State recorded a rise in death toll to 54, from the recent attack.
They further confirmed that hundreds of people have been displaced since the attack, making residents in fear of another possible attack.
The Sultan has therefore urged security agencies to tackle the issue of fake news being spread on social media with the tact and seriousness it deserves.
His words: ‘Our coming together as traditional rulers in the North, I believe, we have more than 86 in the North. We will speak with one voice to say ‘enough is enough’ of this senseless killing of innocent people across the North and the country.’
He further stated: ‘How many times do we need to condemn these killings before our political leaders and security agencies stop or reduce the insecurity in the country to the barest minimum?
‘We, the traditional rulers, feel bad and saddened when our people are killed by people we don’t know. It’s high time we worked harder, talked to ourselves and in closed door meetings discussed it. We shall advise our political leaders, they are at the helm of affairs and we will work with them.’
‘As traditional rulers, we are not competing with governors of our states, we are only helping them. We will not and will never be in contention with political leadership or governors.’
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who visited Plateau State on Tuesday, has also expressed his concerns over the recent killings in the state. While condemning the violence, he assured residents that the perpetrators will be brought to book soon.
He further recognized the negative impact on the local farming communities and thereby, urged so stop profiling criminals ethnic groups there was a need for unity in addressing crime.
On his part , Labour Party Chieftain, Mr. Peter Obi has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to suspend his present retreat in France and prioritize the need to return and address the rising insecurity in the country.
