The federal government says unscrupulous people have been identified to be using fake videos to inflame passion of Nigerians over the xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians in South Africa.
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, at a press conference on Thursday, identified three of the videos being circulated on the social media regarding the attacks to be fake as they have nothing to do with recent attacks and on Nigerians.
The minister added that apart from inflaming passion, the videos were also complicating the efforts of the government to calm frayed nerves at home in the wake of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
He therefore warned those who are circulating the videos to immediately desist from doing so.
He said, “One video shows a man who has been set ablaze trying to escape, and those circulating the video identified the man as Nigerian. This is not true. The video shows Mozambican Ernesto Alfabeto Nhamuave, a victim of xenophobic violence in South Africa in 2008, and it is not that of a Nigerian being attacked in 2019.
“Another video shows those said to be Nigerians jumping down from a multi-storey building that was purportedly set on fire by xenophobic attackers in South Africa. This is fake news as the video is that of a Suraj Coaching Centre in Gujarat State, India, that was gutted by fire on May 24, 2019, leaving about 18 people dead.
“The third video, purportedly showing the bodies of Nigerians who were burnt in xenophobic attacks, is the raw footage of those who were killed in a Tanzanian fuel tanker explosion in Morogoro that left at least 60 dead on Aug. 10 2019.”
Mohammed said following the launch of the National Campaign Against Fake News on July 11, it has become more pronounced that fake news and disinformation represent a clear and present danger to every society.
He noted that reports in the media have also indicated that hoodlums have hijacked the peaceful protests by some Nigerians to loot shops at Shoprite and other malls in some locations across the country.
“A Nigerian lady whose shop was looted at the Novare Mall in Lagos said she lost millions of Naira to the hoodlums who looted her shop.
“The offices of the MTN nationwide have either been attacked or threatened. Nigerians own and run the shops in the various Shoprite malls across the country. Nigerians work there also. MTN is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the investors in this company are Nigerians. The workers are mostly Nigerians. Same applies to other South African businesses in the country. By attacking them, we are hurting our own people. That is the blunt truth.”
The minister further appealed to opinion leaders and celebrities to be guarded in their utterances and comments on the xenophobic attacks and the reactions from Nigerians.
“Nigerians should be wary of the purveyors of these wrong videos. We strongly warn hoodlums who may wish to hide under the peaceful protests by Nigerians to loot, maim and kill that the security agencies will apprehend and bring them to justice.
“The Federal Government will leave no stone unturned to protect Nigerian citizens anywhere around the world, including South Africa where they have been subjected to repeated xenophobic attacks, with terrible consequences that include loss of lives and property,” he added.
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