The Nigerian Government has asserted that Twitter and its founder, Jack Dorsey, are ‘vicariously’ liable for the destruction and losses the country suffered during the EndSARS protest.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made this claim on Tuesday when he featured on ‘Politics Nationwide’, a Radio Nigeria call-in programme monitored by Africa Today News, New York.
Mohammed alleged that Dorsey raised funds through Bitcoins to sponsor the EndSARS protest while his platform, Twitter, was used to fuel the crisis.
According to him, when he made the allegations earlier, Nigerians ignored him not until an online media outfit carried out an investigation and fact-checking.
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The minister said the online publication confirmed that Dorsey retweeted some of the posts by some of the coalitions supporting the EndSARS protest.
He said it was also confirmed that the Twitter founder launched fundraising asking people to donate via Bitcoins.
The minister said Dorsey further launched Emoji to make the EndSARS protest visible on the microblogging site.
He said Dorsey also retweeted the tweets of some foreign and local supporters of EndSARS.
‘If you ask people to donate money via bitcoins for EndSARS protesters then you are vicariously liable for whatever is the outcome of the protest.
‘We have forgotten that EndSARS led to the loss of lives, including 37 policemen, six soldiers, 57 civilians while property worth billions of naira were destroyed.
‘164 police vehicles and 134 police stations were razed to the ground, 265 private corporate organisation were looted while 243 public property were looted.
’81 warehouses were looted while over 200 brand new buses bought by Lagos State Government were burnt to ashes,’ he said.
The minister said it was unfair to conclude that the operation of Twitter was suspended indefinitely because it deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s message.
He said the government was unambiguous that the action was taken because the platform was being used to promote the views of those who wanted to destabilise the country.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK