The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has described social media as a terrorist organisation, calling on security agencies to confront its growing influence and disruptive potential.
Speaking during the 7th Executive Committee Meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council held behind closed doors in Maiduguri, Borno State, the monarch expressed strong disapproval of the negative role social media plays in spreading falsehoods and inciting unrest.
He declared, “Social media is one terrorist organisation. Somebody can sit in the comfort of their home and formulate stories, and you will consider that it is true.
Social media is a terrorist organisation that we must deal with. Security agencies must deal with this terrorist organisation called social media.”
The Sultan also addressed the continuing violence in Plateau and other parts of the country, strongly condemning the loss of innocent lives and urging swift action from political leaders and law enforcement.
“Our coming together as traditional rulers in the North, I believe, we have more than 86 in the North. We will speak with one voice to say ‘enough is enough’ of this senseless killing of innocent people across the North and the country.
“We have released so many statements of condemnation, but how many times do we need to condemn these killings before our political leaders and security agencies stop or reduce the insecurity in the country to the barest minimum?
“We, the traditional rulers, feel bad and saddened when our people are killed by people we don’t know. It’s high time we worked harder, talked to ourselves and in a closed-door meeting, discuss it.”
“We shall advise our political leaders, they are at the helm of affairs and we will work with them,” he said.
