The Federal Government has denied monitoring or recording calls made by Nigerians. It described as false the information being circulated on the social media that via a regulation by the Ministry of Interior, all phone calls and social media posts by Nigerians were being monitored and recorded. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the denial on behalf of the Federal Government in a statement he issued in Abuja. He described the reported phone monitoring as another example of disinformation that had permeated the media space, especially the social media.
The Minister said the intention of those behind the news was to give the impression that the Federal Government was working to stifle freedom of speech. Mohammed said, ‘’There is no regulation, old or new, from the Ministry of Interior or any Federal Government agency requiring the recording of all calls or the monitoring of social media platforms. We are therefore using this medium to inform all Nigerians that what is being circulated in this regard is totally false and should be disregarded.
We thank all Nigerians who have reached out to us in an effort to confirm the authenticity or otherwise of this information, which is now being widely circulated on the social media. This is the best way to ensure that the purveyors of false news do not dominate our media space.”
