Groups petition panel, accuse Kanu, Falz, Burna Boy, others of using fake news to cause anarchy

IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, rapper, Folarin Falana aka Falz and self acclaimed ‘African Giant’ Burna Boy and others have been accused of using fake news to spread anarchy during the #EndSARS protests.

The claim was made on Wednesday by the Global Amnesty Watch (GAW) and some rights groups which also alleged that some Nigerian celebrities and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) incited violence through fake news.

GAW also named Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and Nigerian artiste DJ Switch of being responsible for purveying fake news aimed at causing anarchy in the country.

Their claim was contained in a memorandum jointly signed by Abdulmalik Alfa, Werigbelegha Zinake, Linda Etafia and Sadiq Abdullahi on behalf of International Human Rights Protection Forum (IHRPF), Centre for Human Rights Advancement in Nigeria (CHRAN), Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN) and Make Nigeria Better Initiative (MNBI).

In the MOU sent to the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution, the rights groups also called for the punishment of those named in misinforming Nigerians that led to a “near-breakdown of law and order” that accompanied the EndSARS protests, particularly in Lagos State.

READ ALSO: Rights groups threaten to drag DJ Switch before ICC for allegedly spreading misleading reports over #EndSARS

The rights groups fingered celebrities like “Folarin Falana poplarly known as Falz, Disc Jockey, DJ Switch, Feminist Coalition, Burna Boy, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and Nnamdi Kanu of being in the forefront of this campaign to destroy the nation with fake news.”

“The EndSARS protest across the country is assumed in many quarters to be without a leadership structure. While this position has been canvassed in numerous quarters, however, there seems to be a link with regards to the provision of logistic support to the protesters across the country.

“It is instructive to state that the EndSARS protest was funded from a well-concealed network that raised over N75 Million from donations from individuals in Nigerian and outside the shores of the country through a group called The Feminist Coalition,” the memorandum reads in part.

They also absolved the military of “any wrongdoing at Lekki toll gate, Lagos or anywhere in the country.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now