Nigerian govt denies new regulations to monitor phone calls, social media activities

The Federal Government of Nigeria has denied claims that it will soon introduce new regulations to monitor phone calls and trawl through what Nigerians do on various social media platforms.

The claim was denied by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami who was reacting to a trending message which was ‘’falsely’’ attributed to him where he purportedly said that there would be new communication regulations “from tomorrow”.

Pantami who dissociated himself from the trending message through a statement issued and signed by his spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, on Sunday, said that the alleged introduction of the new regulation is fake news.

He said; “The attention of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has been drawn to a misleading message purportedly authored by him, currently trending on social media.

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“The fake news is circulating a message which implies that all devices are now connected to the Ministry’s systems and that effective tomorrow, it will commence the recording of phone calls and the monitoring of all social media platforms and fora.

“The malicious message also further discourages citizens from sharing any messages or videos with political or religious content as it is now officially a crime and could even lead to arrest.

“The Honourable Minister enjoins all Nigerians, to disregard the propaganda which is aimed at inciting fear and creating public confusion”, the statement added.

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