Facebook has deleted an “unpresidential post” by President Muhammadu Buhari who threatened genocide against the Igbos.
Although it is unclear the exact time the post was removed, the development follows outrage by Nigerians after the offensive post by Buhari.
The president, in a post also shared on Twitter, vowed that “those misbehaving” would “soon have the shock of their lives,” while referencing his role during the 1967 Biafra war where over a million people were gruesomely killed.
“Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War,” his now-deleted post said. “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
Buhari’s “genocidal” post was trailed by criticisms, as many slammed him and demanded that his social media accounts be suspended for violation of rules.
As at the time of filing this report, Facebook has not released any official statement regarding the post.
Initially, Twitter said Buhari’s post did not violate its rules, but took it down after an enquiry, how the situation was essentially similar to the dehumanising tweets about ethnic Uighurs posted by the Chinese Embassy in Washington which Twitter deleted in January.
Meanwhile, Buhari regime on Friday banned Twitter operations across Nigeria for “persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, in a statement signed by his media aide Segun Adeyemi, said that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has also been directed to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.
Mohammed earlier accused Twitter of funding #EndSars protesters, stating that “The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very very suspect”.
“Has Twitter deleted the violent tweets that Nnamdi Kanu has been sending? The same Twitter that was funding #ENDSARS protesters… When people were burning Police stations and killing policemen, for Twitter it was about the right to protest. But when a similar thing happened at the [US] Capitol, it became an insurrection.”
“Twitter’s mission in Nigeria, citing those two examples, is very suspect. What is their agenda?”
