Rinu was part of the #EndSARS campaign who was later nominated into the EndSARS Lagos panel but resigned in protest
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, has been described as the country’s Minister of Disinformation.
This is the opinion of a human rights activist, Rinu Oduala, who spoke on Arise TV, during an interview.
Lai Mohammed dubbed the Lekki shooting, a massacre without bodies, accusing CNN of peddling fake news when it carried out a fact-checking investigation that authenticated testimonies of eyewitnesses who alleged that soldiers shot at protesters while they were singing the country’s National Anthem.
He had said: “They (CNN) were caught spreading fake news and they are trying to escape. We are accusing them of basing their stories on videos sourced on social media. CNN has been inconsistent. It also doctored the video it got. We are confident in our position.”
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Lai Mohammed, in his labelling style, also accused Obianuju Catherine Udeh, popularly known as DJ Switch, who filmed the ugly killings of Nigerians by their own soldiers, as a peddler of fake news who would soon be exposed.
Hear him: “One of the purveyors of fake news was one DJ Switch whose real name is Obianuju Catherine Udeh, even though she claimed authentic evidence of mass killings. Surprisingly, instead of presenting whatever evidence she may have, she chose to escape from the country on the claim that her life was in danger. In danger for who?”
An agency under the control of Lai Mohammed, Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC), also fined three television stations – Arise News, Channels Television and AIT, for airing footages of the now confirmed massacre.
But since the Lagos panel on EndSARS came out with its report indicting the Nigerian Army and police for killing peaceful protesters whose only offence was to demand a reform of the police system, Lai Mohammed has maintained a studious silence.
During her interview on Arise TV, Rinu called Lai Mohammed Nigeria’s Disinformation Minister.
Disinformation is a deliberate distortion of information to mislead and deceive people. It is the more serious form of misinformation, which is an innocent spreading of fake news.
Rinu later tweeted: “Lai Mohammed, you haven’t said anything since the report came out.”
On Twitter, many Nigerians have commended Rinu for giving Lai Mohammed the appropriate tag of Nigeria’s Disinformation Minister.
@DrOlufunmilayo said: “On national TV right now, Rinu just called Lai Mohammed the Minister of Disinformation. Very apt. Very accurate.”
Former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Odinkalu, also added his voice via his handle @ChidiOdinkalu that: “Now we know who the champion of fake news is. Stand up for the champion, Lai Mohammed,” he said.
