The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says the media report that he accused the regime of Gen. Murtala Mohammed for spate of insecurity in Nigeria is false and disinformative.
The minister made this known on Tuesday in Lagos during a meeting with Online Publishers.
He further expressed dismay over the reports and clarified on what he said when he recently featured on Channels Television’s News programme.
He explained the situation by saying that the lead speaker at a Town Hall Meeting held in Kaduna had made reference to the retreat by the former military Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon, after the civil war.
“He said that at the end of the retreat, there was consensus that all children born after the civil war must be given free and compulsory primary education.
“I simply elaborated on this information and said that if subsequent governments after Gen. Gowon had perfected this pledge, the bandits and kidnappers today will have no market to recruit their followers.
“I said we have about 13 million out of school children and if successive government had taken the decision at the Gowon’s retreat seriously, we will not be where we are today.
“There was nowhere I blamed Gen. Murtala Mohammed, but we are in the era of disinformation and fake news,’’ he explained further.
The minister said he was also misunderstood on his stand that kidnapping and banditry were not offences that could be prosecuted by the Federal Government.
He said while his stand was correct, it was not meant to absorb the federal government from the responsibility of fighting crimes as it was misinterpreted by some people.
“I was responding to the opposition PDP which said that the Federal Government has not prosecuted any bandits or kidnappers.
“I said it is not the responsibility of the federal government to prosecute bandits or kidnappers.
“The responsibility of the federal government is to hunt them down, arrest them and hand them over to the states judiciary to prosecute.
The minister said Nigerians must be guided about the spate and effects of fake news and disinformation. (NAN)
