Why FG won’t ban Facebook over violent postings- Mohammed

The Nigerian government has no plans to ban Facebook having reached an agreement to tackle violent postings on its platform, Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, has said.

The agreement indicates that the social media operator will ensure stricter control over what is posted on its platform, to avoid sanctions from the Nigerian authorities.

The minister, who fielded questions from State House journalists after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday, said Facebook was becoming a platform of choice for “promoting violence.”

“I had a very fruitful meeting with Facebook yesterday (Tuesday). At that meeting, we expressed our displeasure that Facebook was becoming a platform of choice for those who stay outside Nigeria, in particular, to incite violence, killings, burning of government properties, killing of soldiers and policemen.

“We had a very robust discussion with Facebook. Facebook saw our point and they said they’re going to do much more than they are doing.

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“So if they do that, why would we ban them? We don’t ban for banning sake. We ban or suspend operations if for any reason, lives are threatened and they do not listen. But this is engagement”

He said the social platform agreed to do more in looking out for unwholesome content being used on their platforms.

Mohammed pointed out that a “BBC documentary on this particular issue found out that some of them who call themselves social media warriors in England, France and other places, have in recent times, been using the Facebook platform to incite violence in Nigeria.

“We have all seen the real-life impact of those warmongers; the young couple who are going to marry; soldiers who were gruesomely murdered.

He also blamed the killing of policemen in Anambra State and the attacks on a military barracks on the effects of the postings on Facebook.

“We did warn Facebook to please do more than they are doing now. And I must say that their response was quite encouraging. They said they are going to do much more”