By Shola Abayomi.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has dismissed reports of an alleged bomb explosion at the South African High Commission in Abuja today.
The minister, who addressed newsmen in Abuja, shortly after a purported video of the explosion went viral on the internet, described the fake news as the handiwork of “desperate opposition.”
He explained that the video in circulation was that of the bomb explosion at Emab Plaza, near Banex, in Abuja on June 25, 2014.
He accused the ‘opposition’ of resorting to fake news and disinformation as a strategy to create chaos in the country.
Alhaji Mohammed also refuted a video of himself allegedly appealing to Nigerians to forgive President Muhammadu Buhari for not having a school certificate.
He said: “A pattern is emerging of the antics of the desperate opposition to latch on to the use of fake news and disinformation as a strategy to trigger chaos in the country. On Friday (6 Sept 2019), they doctored and circulated the video of my appearance on Channels Television in January 2015 (when I was the spokesman of the APC) to make it look like I was begging Nigerians to forgive President Buhari for not
having a school certificate.
“Worse still, they posted the video afresh, giving the impression it happened last Thursday and that I acted in my capacity as Minister of Information and Culture.
”Unfortunately for them, this doctored video came out on the same day a report emerged that the PDP had sent lawyers and party agents to the University of Cambridge to confirm the authenticity of the President’s West African school certificate, only to be stunned to discover that not only did the President write the examination, he also passed.
”One would have expected a party that trumpets its belief in the rule of law, a party that challenged the result of the last presidential election in court, to wait patiently for the impending judgement on the issue instead of engaging in underhand tactics and resorting to self help.”