As concerns grow over whether the government is actually monitoring the activities of Nigerians on the social media, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity has said he doesn’t know if calls are being monitored.
“I am not aware of that,” Mr Garba Shehu when asked, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, if the government was monitoring the calls of Nigerians.
He, however, shared the government’s concern about the misuse of the Internet.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in his national broadcast on Monday last week said some of the comments and discussions on the social media while he was away on medical vacation were distressing.
The following day, the Director of Defence Information, Major-General John Enenche, told Channels Television that the activities of Nigerians on the social media were being monitored for anti-government, anti-military and anti-security, sparking outrage among Nigerians on the social media and beyond.
Although Mr Shehu is “not aware” of the monitoring of calls, he is quick to point out that the Internet now feeds extremism.
“I know that this country, in fact, the whole world has a big problem with balancing free speech and what we call in this country hate speech,” he said.
“It has many faces depending on which country you are dealing with. In most of these European countries, (and) America, they are dealing with Islamic terror. In America, white extremism and all of that. All of it fed substantially by the Internet.”
Consequently, he does not believe it should be a big deal if there is some form of monitoring going on.
He said, “I believe that people can be justified. A lot of countries are taking notes. If Nigeria does it, I don’t know. I’m in a position to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. But if it happens in this country, it is not extraordinary, it is not unusual. Everybody is interested. Look, this thing about international terrorism is big and nobody is leaving it to chances.”
The Presidential aide also has no problem with military monitoring the social media as long as it is part of their “national security duties”.
He also defended the President for his concern about the use of the social media for promoting extremism.
