SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS: Pantami on US terror watchlist saga, Ada Jesus, Rita Edochie, Odumeje stir social media

Social media users engaged in a heated debate on Monday in reaction to news reports alleging that Nigeria’s Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, is on a United States terrorism watch list.

The report which was published on Sunday by a local media outlet claimed Pantami who is a former student of Salafist ideologies, had ties with top Islamic jihadists like late leader of the Boko Haram sect, Mohammed Yusuf and other Al-Qaeda leaders whom he revered and spoke highly of.

The report also claimed that the Minister held dangerous views against the American government, prior to his appointement in 2019 by President Buhari and substantiated their claims with an old video showing Pantami debating with the late Boko Haram founder, late Mohammed Yusuf.

The development, considered highly disturbing by most Nigerians instigated reactions and debates online as calls for a thorough investigation into the matter by the Nigerian government heightened.

Things took another turn, when the newspaper which had published the report retracted it and apologised. But the deed had been done, and many Nigerians reacted, with many fearing for the safety of their National Identification Numbers (NIN) domiciled in the ‘hands’ of the minister who oversees the registration exercise.

But reacting to the allegations and consequent apology via his official Twitter handle, Pantami while condemning the report as a case of character defamation wrote:

“@NewsWireNGR, your RETRACTION through your independent investigation has been noted. However, Investigative journalism requires the investigation before publishing, not after. Further, major publishers will meet my lawyers in the court on this defamation of character.

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“My lectures against the doctrines and all other evil people have been available for over 15 years, including debates that endangered my life against many criminals in Nigeria. If you can’t understand Hausa, get an objective Hausa speaker to translate for you objectively” he wrote

See reactions below:

https://twitter.com/NotJustSalmanPR/status/1381517649616764929?s=08

Ada Jesus, Rita Edochie, Odumeje

The trio took independent spots on Twitter’s trends chart, Monday after Nollywood actress, Rita Edochie shared a video on her Instagram page, stating that she had now forgiven ailing comedienne, Mercy Ginikachukwu Cynthia, popularly known as Ada Jesus, hours after vowing never to forgive her.

She noted that she took the decision after heeding to pleas from her fans to pardon the younglady who she claimed went about soiling her reputation and that of controversial Nigerian prophet, Chukwuemeka Odumeje.

Ada Jesus who is currently down with kidney disease had reportedly accused the actress and the prophet of staging miracles in their church.

The actress further advised the younglady and others of her ilk to desist from speaking ill of men of God, especially prophet Odumeje.

Nigerians reacted thus:

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