The acting Inspector-General of Police (IG-P), Mr Mohammed Adamu, has assured candidates and political parties of police neutrality and fairness throughout the general elections.
Adamu gave the assurance at a National Sensitisation Workshop on Broadcast Media Coverage of 2019 General Elections organised by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), yesterday, in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was themed: “Fake News, Hate Speech, Vote and PVC Buying”.
Represented by Commissioner of Police Kenneth Ebrimson, the acting IG-P pledged that the police would discharge its constitutional responsibilities professionally before, during and after the elections.
He described the theme of the workshop, as very topical and timely, noting that hate speech and fake news are very dangerous phenomenon that heat up polity and create disaffection.
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Besides, he observed that the incidence of vote buying had taken an ugly dimension in recent times, stating that vote buying promotes bad leadership, corruption and criminality.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, urged broadcasters to abide by the Broadcasting Code and relevant clauses related to the conduct of political broadcasting to avoid sanctions.
Mohammed, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Ms Grace Isu-Gekpe, advised broadcasters to avoid being used by enemies of the state to broadcast hate speech and fake news.
According to him, government will not relent in its efforts to rid the electoral process of vote and PVC buying.
In a paper titled, “Hate Speech and Fake News are not Free Speech”, Prof Jibo Ibrahim, urged NBC to intensify efforts to curb airing of contents that cause disaffection in the society.
