President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered security agencies to curb the spread of hate speech, especially through social media.
The directive was given during a security meeting order at the presidential villa in Abuja.
The president had in his address given upon his return from his second medical leave declared his administration’s zero-tolerance for hate speech and warned those who regularly cross the “red line”.
“Relevant security agencies should as a matter of urgency tackle the propagation of hate speeches through the social media, particularly by some notable Nigerians,” Mansur Dan Ali, minister of defence, said.
This might spark fears of a social media crackdown though Minister of Information Lai Mohammed had allayed such fears last year.
“We have said it before and we want to re-state it: the federal government has no immediate or long-term plan to stifle press freedom. Even the social media, with its warts and all, will neither be regulated nor have its operations tampered with,” he said.
