14th September, 2019
Nasir el-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna state has warned Nigerians not to misuse the freedom of expression to incite war in Kaduna.
According to the el-Rufai, his government has taken false tweet seriously, adding that living in Port-Harcourt or Lagos would not save anyone who is responsible for spreading fake news about his state.
The governor stated that he is on the look for more people. He said two or three persons are still being prosecuted for false news in Kaduna.
However, he promised not to interfere in court processes.
While speaking at the launch of a book titled, ‘Digital Wealth”, by blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, he said: “We should not confuse freedom of expression with freedom to kill. If you tweet something that is fake or you tweet something that is reckless without checking and it leads to the death of people, then you deserve to be tried at least as an accessory before or after the fact of murder.
“In Kaduna State we have done that very aggressively because there are things that have been put on social media that have led to the death of people. So, we take it very seriously. You cannot sit in Port Harcourt or Lagos and start posting stuff that leads to societal instability in Kaduna and we let you go.
“We will file charges, we will go and collect you (sic) from Port Harcourt or Lagos and bring you before a judge in Kaduna and the judge will decide whether you are guilty. We’ve done that two or three times. The people we have done this to are still being prosecuted.
“If you want to tweet something about Kaduna, be very careful because I am watching.”