Adewumi Ademiju
The Ekiti state Police command has cautioned members of the public especially the media and the internet users against cybercrime and all forms of fake news.
This is coming as the gubernatorial election in the state draws nearer.
The police spokesperson, Abutu Sunday while featuring on NTA program in Ado-Ekiti cautioned against misinformation and fake news. He highlighted the regulations and stipulations in the cybercrime and criminal code according to the Constitution to enlighten the public and concerned persons on the legal implications of cybercrime.
His words:
“Where do we draw the line between fake news and misinformation? I can be saying that this happened, and it is actually not true. And within me, I am sincere about what I am saying, thinking that it actually happened. How do we know when the intent is to harm and when the intent is just genuine and out of ignorance? Ignorance is not an excuse in the law.
“Whether fake news or misinformation, they are all harmful to the target audience. We said fake news is any information that is not true. Misinformation is not true, but the person sharing it or saying it or passing it may not know that this is actually fake.
And that is one of the major things that happen today on the internet. So people share information, they don’t verify their sources. Once they see, they believe it.
“People are emotionally driven these days and they believe whatever they see, they believe whatever they hear, they believe whatever they read. And the next thing they do is to click the button to share it. So both fake news and misinformation should not be entertained.
“And that is why we always advise that when you see something, you see a particular news, don’t be quick to click to share. Don’t be quick to do that. So both fake news and misinformation are all not welcome.
The police added:
“Yes, of course, I am not a lawyer. But as a police officer, I am trained or we are trained to know the basics of law. In fact, there is something I wanted to mention earlier. We talked about misinformation.
We also have disinformation. We also have malinformation. Misinformation is the one you share and you didn’t intend to harm anybody.You were not aware that, you may not even be aware or you are not even aware that this is actually not true. Then, disinformation is the one you know.You know yourself that it is not true.
But you still go ahead. Sometimes you cook it, sometimes you cook together. Sometimes, after reading it, you confirm that it is not true.
“But you still go ahead to share it, disinformation. Malinformation is true. But you kind of exaggerate it.
So, these are all fake news. They are all false information. And then, we have the legal implication of these fake news”
On the regulations, Abutu explained:
“We have the Cybercrime Prohibition Act through 2015 Section 24,1 and 2 actually mentioned the fact that you should not use the internet or you cannot use your phone generally the internet ,the cyberspace to defame anyone. You should not use it to harm anybody.
You should not send any Information Misinformation or disinformation or malinformation.
” So the legal implication is that the offender after being convicted will face about three years in prison or imprisonment or seven million Naira according to how it’s stated or both. Now when you go to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria . Also does not give you the rights to talk down on another person.
“There is freedom of speech . But your freedom ends where maybe another person’s own starts. So on this issue of fake news this issue of defarmation has actually reduced or limited our freedom of speech so that you have freedom to speak does not mean that you cannot speak constructively so if you if you are sending anything you must make sure that it is correct otherwise Constitution of the Republic will hold you then the criminal code as well section 373 also talked about defaming someone .
“Some people said defamation Is a civil matter, though defamation can be a civil matter and can also be a criminal matter depending on how the affected person decide to do it. He or she can decide to approach the police for justice or can sue the person .So if you are sued you will face a jail term of three years or you have fine to pay or both . So these are the legal implications”, the police said.