The Federal Government has been defended that it would have shut down the social media during the #EndSARS protest but chose never to go ‘for that final option’.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare while defending the Nigerian Government, said the FG decided to follow the constitution and not to violate the freedom of speech constitution.

He said, “The talk around regulation, of course, we have a National Assembly, it will have to go through the normal process. We have a constitution, we have to make sure it does not violate certain provisions of the constitution that has to do with freedom of expression.

“There was no time the cyberspace was shut down, people were still able to connect themselves through the various social media platforms. And that shows a government that is committed to the rights of freedom and association of every citizen of this country.”

Addressing the issue of fake news in the country, the Sports Minister said the Government should curtail fake news to ‘make sure there is a level of control’ and its responsiblity, he said, “As a country, we must start to think of how to curtail fake news. There must be some level of responsibility and some level of punishment to those that create chaos out of mischief in our country.

“Where you have fake news destroying lives, the government has a responsibility to make sure that there is a level of control. It is not censorship but some level of control.”

Dare said the Federal Government, “Even during the #EndSARS protests, the country had an option (but) the country never went for that final option.”

The Youths Minister said the social media regulation should be implemented as seen in other countries, he said, “The fact that our youths used it to mobilise is commendable. But the talk about the regulation of the social media has been around for a while. We’ve seen other countries taking practical steps in that direction, this country has not done that.”

However, Dare added that the #EndSARS protest that went on for days revealed the hazard of fake news, he said;

“The protests brought home the dangers of fake news.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1604311772/endsars-decided-not-shut-down-social-media