Former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani, has called for caution in Nigeria’s push to regulate social media, warning that a clampdown could silence dissent and protect those in power from accountability.
Sani’s remarks came on Sunday, September 7, in a post on X, following reports that the Department of State Services (DSS) had written to the platform demanding the removal of activist Omoyele Sowore’s controversial tweet.
Sowore, in August, posted a video of President Bola Tinubu on a Brazil trip, calling him a “criminal” over alleged corruption. The DSS has since urged X to take down that and similar posts.
Reacting, Sani wrote, “If you regulate the social media, you trample on freedom of speech and shield governments, states, and institutions from being held accountable.”
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At the same time, he warned against ignoring the dangers of online abuse.
“If you don’t regulate the social media, it becomes a tool for hate, harassment, defamation, corrupting culture, and incitement to violence,” he added.
The former lawmaker noted that even Western democracies have struggled to find the right approach.
“The social media is like a gun, it can be used to prevent murder and to commit murder,” he said, stressing the need for Nigeria to strike a balance between safeguarding rights and ensuring public decency.