Former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and ally of the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, has called on the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to rein in his supporters before they commit murder in his name.
Onanuga described Obi’s supporters as “noxious characters” and expressed his concern that they continue to embarrass Nigeria.
The media practitioner was reacting to reports that supporters of Obi were sending toxic messages to Astha Rajvanshi, a staff writer at Time who wrote a review about the incoming Nigerian president.
Tinubu was recently listed in Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023 under the category of leaders. In his tweet, Onanuga wrote, “Peter Obi’s verminous mob continues to embarrass our country because it can’t stomach the reality that he woefully lost the presidential election.
Obi should please call these noxious characters to order before they commit murder in his name.”
The call from Onanuga comes amidst growing concerns over the rise of hate speech and incitement to violence on social media platforms in Nigeria.
The Nigerian government has been under pressure to take action against those who use social media to spread hate and misinformation.
This is not the first time that Obi’s supporters have been accused of spreading toxic messages on social media. In the lead up to the presidential election, there were reports of hate speech and incitement to violence on social media platforms.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
