Barely a week after the Minister of
Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed,
kickstarted a campaign against the
proliferation of fake news, a top member
of the ruling party has been caught
posting false information on his social
media page.
Decrying the spread and the imminent
danger posed by the spread of fake news
and hate speeches, last Friday, Mr.
Mohammed said that fake news not only
threatens the peace and security but was
also a threat to the corporate existence of
the country.
“In a country like Nigeria which is multi-
ethnic and religious, fake news and hate
speech is time bomb.
“We also launched the campaign to
sensitise Nigerians that each and every
one of us can play a role in combating the
rising level of fake news.
“Fake news is a global issue, it is not just
a Nigerian issue but we are more
concerned about Nigeria because of the
potential it has to our corporate
existence,” Mr Mohammed said.
But on Tuesday, the publicity secretary of
the All Progressives Congress (APC) in
Lagos, Joe Igbokwe posted a clear
misinformation to thousands of his
followers on his Facebook wall.
Accompanied with a picture, which was
apparently taken inside Aso Presidential
Villa of a police officer walking past
President Muhammadu Buhari, who was
sitting behind a desk in the background,
Mr Igbokwe posted:
“Please meet ACP Obinna Chukwuka, the
tear rubber Chief Security Officer to Mr
President,” Mr Igbokwe wrote. Tear
rubber in local parlance means ‘new’.
The post was apparently used to depict
the president, who has come under verbal
attacks over the perceived lopsidedness
of his political appointments, as a
detribalised leader.
PREMIUM Times investigation revealed
that the claim made in the post was false
as the president is yet to replace his Chief
Security Officer, Bashir Abubakar.
Mr Abubakar was appointed as the president’s CSO in
July 2015 after his predecessor, Abdulrahman Mani,
was sacked.
Before his appointment the President CSO, Mr
Abubakar wss an assistant director of the secret police,
Department for State Security (DSS) in Bayelsa State.
When contacted, Mr Abubakar said it was not true that
he had been replaced. He, however, declined further
comment, stating that he was busy at the time.
As at Wednesday afternoon, the post had attracted
over 140 likes and had been shared over 30 times.
The president’s Senior Special Assistant, Media and
Publicity, Garba Shehu, did not return calls made to his
mobile phone and has not responded to an sms sent to
him for comment.
“Is it false?”
When reached for comments Mr Igbokwe said the post
did not originate from him adding that he merely copied
it “because it was trending”.
“If you look at it you will see that it was copied. The
thing has been trending. I copied it from… you know
sometimes you copy from a reliable source. It didn’t
come from me. It was from a particular source I can
trust,” he said during a telephone interview.
But when asked if he confirmed whether the news was
true before posting, a bemused Mr Igbokwe replied:
“No o. No o, because I said I trust those people. I have
my friends on Facebook. Is it false? Is it false? If is
false. I have pulled down so many stories that are
false.”
He added that he did not confirm the veracity of the
post because nobody has flagged it as fake.
“Because I have seen it trending and nobody has said it
was fake news, I have seen some of my reliable
partners post it that is why I shared it.”
Penchant for posting controversies?
Mr Igbokwe has over 21,000 followers on Facebook
and many of his posts attract hundreds of comments,
shares and likes. He has a penchant for posting
controversial items on Facebook.
On July 8, soon after PREMIUM TIMES’ story revealing
that the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun forged her
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exemption
certificate, Mr Igbokwe posted a photoshopped image
of Ms. Adeosun in a corps member fatigue with the tag:
“Wailers will you keep quiet!”.
“Wailers” is a slur used by supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari to describe his critics. The term
was popularised by Femi Adesina, Mr Buhari’s top
media aide.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/276924-apc-chieftain-caught-spreading-fake-news-on-facebook.html

Mr Igbokwe posted:
“Please meet ACP Obinna Chukwuka, the
tear rubber Chief Security Officer to Mr
President

,”

Igbokwe was implying Buhari have made an Igbo man Chief Security Officer, I laff in Lokoja.

No one needs premium times to tell them Buhari wouldn't make a Yoruba man his chief security officer talk less of an Igbo man.