The Federal Government has appealed to Nigerians not to panic, saying it is well-equipped to detect and handle any possible case or cases of Coronavirus.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who made the appeal in Abuja, urged Nigerians not to fall for the antics of purveyors of fakes news and disinformation.

Mohammed said the government is working with Facebook to bring down any misleading information on coronavirus.

“We know that at times like this, purveyors of fake news and disinformation usually ramp up their acts,” Mohammed said.

“Facebook has asked Nigerians to report any false or misleading report on Facebook and Instagram pages so they can immediately bring them down. They have also assured us that they are taking preemptive action to remove any false or harmful messages about this epidemic and public health in Nigeria 24/7.

“All that Nigerians are required to do is to flag any false or misleading report on the epidemic and Facebook will remove any such report With Coronavirus now in Nigeria, following the first confirmed case, the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is intensifying its public sensitization and enlightenment campaign on the disease. The saying, information is power is most apt at this time.”

Lai Mohammed noted that Media agencies of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture- NTA, FRCN, NAN, VON and NOA, have been directed to intensify their ongoing sensitization and enlightenment campaign to arm Nigerians with the necessary information to stay well.

He observed that the National Orientation Agency (NOA), with its offices in all the 774 local governments is pushing the various sensitization/enlightenment programmes to all the nooks and crannies of the country, translating the campaign to the major indigenous languages to expand their reach.