Presidency warns against spreading fake, incendiary videos amid rumors of tribal killings

The Presidency has warned citizens against indiscriminate posts on social media so as to deny vested interests the opportunity to split the country.

Following the viral footage of the purported killings of non-indigenes by the Eastern Security Network (ESN) it warned against any knee-jerk reactions, panic, disruption of lives and livelihoods, or even retaliatory violence.

Mallam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant for Media and Publicity, revealed this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

Shehu said: “While expert agencies are now verifying the factuality and veracity of the claims accompany the horrid pictures being circulated, we call on all citizens to avoid hasty steps or conclusions that could exacerbate the situation, and on the contrary keep to a line of conduct that will help the law to take its proper course.’’

Read also :Nigerian govt uncovered 476 fake news sites – Mohammed

President Buhari, according to the presidential adviser, has condemned the “wild, brutal, and wanton killings of innocent people” in the South-East and other regions of the country, calling it “very disturbing.”

The president warned the culprits that the security forces would be ruthless in their response.

President Buhari’s statement came just days after gunmen in Anambra State massacred at least 12 people, including a pregnant woman and her four children.

The pregnant woman and her children were riding in a motorcycle taxi home when they were ambushed by gunmen in the state’s Orumba region.

A similar incident occurred when gunmen beheaded a state lawmaker, Okechukwu Okoye.

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