News Agency Report
A non-governmental organization under the aegis of Coalition for Change and Transparency (CCT) has alleged that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state-sponsored propaganda and fake news against the Nigerian Army during the just concluded Governorship and State Assembly elections.
In a press conference in Abuja, Monday, the group alleged that Wike and other members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) resorted to cheap blackmails, going as far as allegedly bribing some foreign officials to the tune of $1 million.
“During the state elections, fake news was deployed as a propaganda weapon against the military by those who felt they were unable to rig or manipulate the elections because of the critical role the military was playing.
“Interestingly, such fake news was targeted at areas where the military had successfully prevented violence from spiralling out of control.
“Considering that fake news is now recognized globally as a weapon, and knowing the damages that could result from its deployment, the Coalition for Change and Transparency (CCT) reviewed instances of the use of fake news against the Nigerian Military with a view to identifying those that deployed it, those that exploited it, those that benefited from it and possibly understand the intents of those in the fake news chain.
“In some instances, such contents get into the mainstream media, whose credibility and traditional status and believability are exploited to confer credibility on the lies being told by the propagandists.
“It is most unfortunate that even these cyber operatives and the opposition are being used in the fake news chain as the real culprit are foreign operatives that exploit such content. A specific culprit is the United Kingdom, which based its assessment of the election on fake news about the military beating staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), effectively exploiting the fake news that it had trained the cyber operatives of the opposition to produce.
“The Coalition for Change and Transparency (CCT) therefore condemns in the strongest terms possible the United Kingdom’s unwarranted deployment of fake news to cause disaffection among Nigerians and against the Nigerian military.
“We see it as a deliberate and calculated attempt to cause violence against the military such that the situation will quickly degenerate to a point where violent anti-military protests will bring down the government and cause a constitutional crisis for the country.
“CCT hereby by asks the United Kingdom High Commission in Nigeria to retract the offensive tweet and apologize for willfully attempting to incite violence in Nigeria through the promotion of fake news.
We in the same vein demand that @UKinnigeria including the UK High Commission in Nigeria cease further comments about the election in Nigeria or be faced with deterrent actions from citizens. Nigeria does not interfere in UK elections so there is no justification for the attempts by the United Kingdom to manipulate the conduct and the outcome of the elections in Nigeria.”
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