My govt will go after purveyors of fake news — Soludo

The governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has warned that individuals involved in instigating insecurity through fake news in the State, will be prosecuted by his administration.

Law Mefor, the State Commissioner for Information, disclosed this in a statement obtained by Diaspora Digital Media on Monday.

He said the drastic measure to prosecute purveyor of fake news in the state, was taken following an audio and video messages on social media, claiming to show incidents of insecurity in the State.

Mefor cited the case of a video with a voice note alleging that Fulani herdsmen attacked a community in Umuchu, killing several civilians.

According to Mefor, after investigations, the claim was discovered to be completely false, as no such incident occurred in Umuchu or anywhere in Anambra State.

The statement reads: “It has come to the attention of the Anambra State Government that certain mischievous and malicious individuals are circulating false audio and video messages on social media platforms, claiming to show incidents of insecurity in the State. The latest example is a video with a voice note alleging that Fulani herdsmen attacked a community in Umuchu, killing several people.

“After investigations, the claim was discovered to be completely false, as no such incident occurred in Umuchu or anywhere in Anambra State, and Fulani herdsmen were not involved in any such attack. However, the actual incident depicted in the video occurred in another state.

“This is viewed as nothing short of propaganda from the pit of hell, orchestrated by individuals seeking to promote insecurity in Anambra State for reasons best known to them. Some old videos, many of which never originated from Anambra, are also rebranded, depicting recent insecurity in the state.

“The government therefore warns that it will no longer tolerate this blatant attempt to undermine the peace and security of the state.

“Meanwhile, the state is leveraging advanced technology to track down the originators of such fake news and will not hesitate to take decisive action, including prosecution in line with the express provisions of the cybercrime laws.

“So, let it be known that perpetrators of fake news will henceforth be arrested and visited with the full wrath of the law.”

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