FG reacts to deletion of Buhari’s ‘genocidal’ tweet

The federal government has reacted to the deletion of alleged genocidal tweet of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Buhari had threatened what many described as genocide on Igbo youths whom he said were responsible for the destructions of infrastructure in the South-East and South-South geo-political zones.

On Wednesday, the micro-blogging platform deleted the controversial tweet reported en masse by Nigerians, particularly critics of the administration.

Reacting to the development, Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, accused the social media giant of double standard, saying it was not applying similar action to secessionists.

“Twitter may have its own rules, they are not the universal rules. If Mr President, anywhere in the world, feels very bad and concern about a situation, he is free to express such views,” Mr Mohammed said while addressing, State House Correspondents, in Abuja.

“Now, we should stop comparing apples with oranges. If an organisation is proscribed, it is different from any other which is not proscribed.

“Two, any organisation that gives directives to its members, to attack police stations, to kill policemen, to attack correctional centres, to kill warders, and you are now saying that Mr President does not have the right to express his dismay and anger about that?

“They are the ones guilty of double standards. I don’t see anywhere in the world where an organisation, a person will stay somewhere outside Nigeria and will direct his members to attack the symbols of authority, the police, the military, especially when that organisation has been proscribed.

“By whatever name, you can’t justify giving orders to kill policemen or to kill anybody you do not agree with,” he added.