The National Forum of Democrats (NFD) has asked the
Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest and punish those behind death
reports about President Muhammadu Buhari.
This call followed publication by a news site that Buhari
had died in a London hospital.
A statement on Monday by president of the forum, Gambo
Danbatta, said the website had evil intentions, calling forglobal efforts to
curb the menace of fake news which had now become a “growing international
concern”.
“The persons behind the fake news site are deploying it for
evil. They registered it from Scottsdale, Arizona, the US in October of last
year and updated the site for this evil plot sometimes in April this year.
“Thankfully, presidential aides were quick to calm Nigerians
and assure them as the to the safety and health of Mr President.
“This has nothing to do with freedom of expression, which is
not the same as freedom to lie, it is about criminals plotting to use fake news
to destabilise the country.
“The office should work with the relevant stakeholders to
shut down the fake site while creating an early warning system to identify
similar sites that will proliferate in the days ahead and build the necessary
alliances that would make it possible to shut them down within minutes.
“Our hope is that the real Metro newspaper would work with
the British High Commission and the Nigerian authorities to track down those
exploiting its name to commit crime.
“Those behind the fake news should be treated in this
instance as no less than hackers who deserve to get the maximum punishment
possible once identified”, he stated.
By Wale Odunsi
