Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has debunked media reports that leaders from the South West have thrown their weight behind the call for the regulation of social media in the country.
Governors, traditional rulers and a Presidential delegation, led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari met in Lagos on Sunday. They lamented the negative effect of fake news peddled on social media during the recent #EndSARS protests and the resultant violence.
But speaking at the inauguration of the Oyo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police Brutality, Violation of Rights of Citizens and Unlawful Killings on Tuesday, Makinde said the leaders didn’t see any need for supporting a social media bill since the Cybercrime Act (2015) exists.
He noted that there was no need for duplicity of laws.
The state’s judicial panel is made up of eleven (11) members led by Justice Bolajoko Adeniji (retired), as Chairman of the Panel.
Makinde said the members of the panel were drawn from the legal community, the National Human Rights Commission, the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP), the National Youth Council of Nigeria, youth representatives of EndSARS protesters and the community.
This panel was constituted pursuant to Section 2(1) of the Oyo State Commission of Inquiry Law Cap 32 of the Laws of Oyo State 2000 which empowers the governor to set up a commission of inquiry.
The governor encouraged anyone who has faced human rights abuse in the hands of any of the security forces to use this opportunity to seek justice.
He also promised that those responsible for the deaths of Isiaka Jimoh, Ganiyu Moshood Alabi, and Adeoye Taiwo would be brought to book.
