Taking a stand against cyberbullying and online crimes, the Osun State Government has established a committee aimed at enforcing laws against fake news on the internet.
This move has drawn criticism from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), who perceive it as an attempt to suppress opposing voices and potentially pave the way for authoritarianism under Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration.
The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, announced the formation of the committee, which will operate under the Ministry of Justice and include members from the journalism and legal fields.
Their primary objective is to combat the spread of fake news and ensure compliance with the law, regardless of the source.
While the government asserted that the initiative is necessary to maintain order and uphold constitutional rights, the APC viewed it as a strategic maneuver to deflect attention from alleged corruption scandals and silence dissenting opinions.
The party vowed to remain vigilant in holding the government accountable and safeguarding democratic principles in the state.
“It defies logic that a governor who has been shielding from arrest his chief propagandist, who is being wanted by the DSS for allegedly planting fake news about the son of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Femi Oyetola, is the one touting to curb cyber bullying.
“The issue is that Governor Adeleke is under pressure to defend his corruption-friendly government which has become a butt of jokes among discerning minds in the state”, the APC said.
The Cybercrime Act of 2015 serves as the legal basis for the committee’s actions, with severe penalties outlined for individuals found guilty of disseminating false or offensive material online.
Section 24 (1) of the Cybercrime Act, 2015 reads: “A person who knowingly or intentionally sends a message or other matter by means of computer systems or network that is grossly offensive, pornographic or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character or causes any such message or matter to be sent, or he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or causes such a message to be sent, commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than N7, 000, 000.00 or imprisonment for a term, not more than three years or both”
