The Lagos State Government has advised people in the state to disregard ethnic and religious jingoists, whose purpose is to create conflicts.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, said in a statement on Saturday that the attention of the Lagos State Government had been drawn to videos in social media and the online space, creating tension and encouraging ethnic conflicts.
“Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged the people to disregard the videos, which are the tools of anarchists, whose plan is to create hatred and divisiveness for which Lagos is not known.
“Inciting videos of this nature are not what our land needs now, following the loss of lives and destruction that fake news, misinformation and unfounded rumours have triggered in our dear state in the last couple of days.
“The government appeals to the people to disregard calls from ethnic and religious jingoists as well as agents of destruction who are on a mission to destroy our state by pitching us against one another for yet-to-be-ascertained reasons,” he said.
Omotoso said that this was a very critical moment for the people, adding, that it was, therefore, important for all the people to stand together and remain circumspect because the brewery of falsehood was unrelenting in its mission.
According to him, Lagos State is the melting point of various cultures, tribes and religions across Nigeria.
“We have co-existed harmoniously for ages and will continue to live together peacefully. The sad incident of the past few days affected everyone who lives, trades or works in Lagos, regardless of factors such as tribe, culture, race and religion.
“This is a time for us to empathise with one another and not listen to purveyors of evil messages, especially on the social media,” Omotoso said, pledging the government’s determination to continue to protect the people’s lives and property.
He warned fake news and inciting message merchants to stop their evil enterprise or face the legal consequences of their destructive actions.
“Our dear state will go through this with the resilience for which we are known and come out stronger,” he said.
