Reno Omokri, Femi Fani-Kayode and other Nigerians have reacted to an interview in which Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said he’s not aware of the ‘Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill’ which is now known as the “Social Media Bill”.
In the interview in London, DW’s Tim Sebastian pointed out that the bill has some draconian provisions in which journalists can be imprisoned for publishing content.
In his defence when asked if he is against the bill or not, Lai Mohammed asked Tim who the author of the bill is. He added that he is not aware of the bill.
Tim Sebastian who wondered why a Minister of Information will not know if such bill exists, fired back by stating that the bill is causing an outcry internationally. Lai Mohammed however vehemently stated “there’s no such bill before the house, I can say that with relative authority”.
Here is the video below;
Reacting to the video, Reno Omokri described it as the disgrace of the century. He tweeted;;
Disgrace of the CENTURY: Watch Lai Mohammed LIE to the world that there is no such Bill as the Hate Speech Bill, being sponsored by Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator AliyuAbdullah. A Bill that has featured on @channelstv, @CNN and @BBC
Also reacting to the video, Former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode described Lai Mohammed as the biggest liar in Nigeria’s history and politics. He tweeted;
Lai Mohammed is the biggest LIAR in the history of Nig. politics &he should have thought twice before attempting to go toe to toe with Tim Sebastien(of Hatdtalk fame)who,in my view,is the toughest,most incisive,most insightful and most brilliant interviewer of his generation
Tim, as usual, had done his research very well and he took the Liar to the cleaners and had him stammering like a kindergarten student. Next time Lai will remain in his very low league and not attempt to cross swords on int. television with a well-informed and thoroughly professional journalist with over 40 experience, who knows his onions and who cannot be easily lied to or intimidated.
Here are tweets from other Nigerians below;
