SocialMediaTrends: Tolu Ogunlesi’s resignation rumours, Minister Lai under fire & other stories

The controversies trailing last week’s shooting incident at Lekki toll gate have continued to form the subjects of discussion on major social media platforms.

Each day that passes sees #EndSARS protesters go a step further in unraveling the truth concerning the #LekkiMassacre, and Wednesday was not different.

The question of ‘WHO GAVE THE ORDERS’ and #WhoOrderedLekkiMassacre trended alongside #EndPoliceBrutality for hours on Wednesday. But the following stories gained the most engagements:

Army, Sanwo-Olu

The Nigerian Army finally went back on their words over the Lekki toll gate shootings having previously denied that troops were deployed to the location on October 20.

According to a statement signed by Major Osoba Olaniyi, acting Deputy Director of the 81 division Army Public Relations, the military stated categorically that they never opened fire on the protesters and were never involved in forestalling the violence already brewing in Lagos until the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, invited them after the 24 hours curfew was imposed.

The statement came a day after Sanwo-Olu admitted that the shooting was carried out by men of the Nigerian military, promising that those responsible would be held accountable. But the question on the ‘fingers’ of Nigerians has remained “Who ordered the shooting?”

Tolu Ogunlesi

Presidential aide on New media, Tolu Ogunlesi’s rumoured resignation after his unusual silence since the Lekki shootings on October 20 got his name trending on Twitter on Wednesday.

A Twitter user tweeted on his resignation on Wednesday, but later deleted the tweet.

The suspicion was triggered further after another user brought Ogunlesi’s recent Medium publication on the timeline, in which the Presidential aide condemned the shooting of peaceful protesters as having “no constitutional justification”.

In the publication, Ogunlesi asserted that the perpetrators be brought to book, stating that “anything less would suggest institutional complicity”.

Meanwhile, a yet-to-be-verified support handle of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged Nigerians to regard the rumour as “fake news”. But this does not hold water.

https://twitter.com/buddyankie/status/1321362960711929856?s=08

Read Also: SocialMediaTrends: Lagos panel’s ‘Oath of Secrecy’, Gov Bello’s interview & other stories

Arise TV, Dr Abati

The TV station, Arise, has won the hearts of social media users once again, after an old interview video resurfaced on the internet, of Nigerian journalist, Dr. Reuben Abati responding to a controversial statement by a regional police Commander in Ghana, who advised his officers to reduce involvement in sexual activities in preparation for the country’s general elections.

Dr. Abati’s opinion on why he thinks the police commander’s assertion was a fallacy, became the talk of the day.

Lai Mohammed

Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, came under fire for calling for the regulation of Nigeria’s social media space, stating that the move would curb the spread of fake news that could lead to breakdown of law and order.

“We are sitting on a time bomb on this issue of fake news. Unfortunately, we have no national policy on social media and we need one. When we went to China, we could not get google, Facebook, and Instagram. You could not even use our email in China because they made sure it is censored and well regulated,” the Minister said.

Lai also made reference to the #EndSARS Protests, pointing out how protesters successfully mobilized themselves through the platform.

“They mobilised using social media. The war today revolves around two things: Smart phones and data, and these young men don’t even watch television or listen to the radio or read newspapers”.

Twitter users responded thus:

Crowwe

The Nigerian Twitter has continued to discredit a social media app brand, Crowwe, owned by ex-presidential aspirant, Adamu Garba, over what might be considered an unsettled score.

Mr Garba, known by most Twitter users for his controversial stance on tribal issues, decried the issuing of poor ratings on his novel app as he called on Nigerian youths to be supportive of the innovation capable of benefitting the economy.

…By Okiemute Abraham

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