Federal Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said the recent security alert recently issued on Nigeria by certain embassies in the country is not the correct position of things in the country.
Lai Mohammed made the statement Tuesday in Abuja at a ministerial panel of the on-going UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Week .He condemned the media outfits which fed on the unverified security alert to attract traffic to their site without considering the effects on the country.
“Some media outlets and social media personalities are usually caught spreading unverified information on their platforms just for click bait and the attendant monetary gain.
“Talking of click bait, this may be what informed the spread of the supposed security alert issued recently by some foreign embassies in Nigeria.
“One would imagine that if indeed this kind of security alert was issued, it was for the attention of citizens of the issuing countries in Nigeria.
“Suddenly, this alert found its way into the media, both new and traditional, thus creating panic in the polity.
“Schools were shut. Businesses were closed. Travel plans were altered. Lives were disrupted. No one cared to find out about the authenticity of these alerts.
“They just published, got the benefit of massive click bait and damned the consequences,’’ he said.
He reiterated his position that the country “is safer today than at any time in recent times’’, with the efforts and sacrifices of the military. NAN
