Federal Government of Nigeria has blamed Twitter for the losses recorded during the EndSARS protests.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says Twitter and its founder, Jack Dorsey, are liable for the losses Nigeria suffered during the EndSARS protests.
Mohammed on Tuesday stated that Dorsey raised funds through Bitcoins to sponsor the EndSARS protests while his platform, Twitter, fueled the crisis.
The minister stressed that Nigerians did not believe him when he initially laid the allegations until an online media outfit confirmed it through its investigations.
According to him, the online publication confirmed that the Twitter Boss retweeted some posts by coalitions supporting the EndSARS protests and further launched an emoji to make the protest visible on the social media platform.
He said, “If you ask people to donate money via bitcoins for EndSARS protesters then you are vicariously liable for whatever is the outcome of the protest.
“We have forgotten that EndSARS led to loss of lives, including 37 policemen, six soldiers, 57 civilians while property worth billions of naira were destroyed.
“164 police vehicles and 134 police stations were razed to the ground, 265 private corporate organisations were looted while 243 public property were looted.
“81 warehouses were looted while over 200 brand new buses bought by Lagos state government were burnt to ashes.”
The Minister, however, stated that it was unjust to conclude that Twitter was suspended because it deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet.
Mohammed reiterated that the government took the action because the platform was being used to promote the views of those who wanted to destabilise the country.
“Twitter has become a platform of choice for a particular separatist promoter.
“The promoter consistently used the platform to direct his loyalists to kill Nigerian soldiers and policemen, run-down INEC offices, and destroy all symbols of Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“Every attempt to persuade Twitter to deny its platform to this separatist leader was not taken serious.”
The minister added that the federal government will not apologise to those unhappy over the suspension of the microblogging site’s operations in the country.
