By Austin Ogwuda
SHORTLY after noon yesterday, the news filtered in that the Court of Appeal Abuja Judicial Division has unseated Governor Sheriff Oborevwori following the appeal filed by Ken Pela, the Labour Party governorship candidate during the last election.
Like wild fire the news became so strong and spread in an alarming proportion to the extent that few Journalists I called to confirm, were swift to say “na wetin we hear o”.
I became more confused made further enquiry outside Delta before I got the ‘real gist’.
Sooner than later Felix Ofou at about 12.32pm forwarded a message to one of the platforms I belong saying ‘Delta Court of Appeal Decision is clear. Go back to Tribunal . Please disregard rumours’.
Reading this from the personality of Felix Ofou, made me to be doubly sure that it was fake news and also a message I got thereafter from a very reliable source from Abuja, yours sincerely then knew that the fifth columnist was at work or that a green horn who is not versatile in reporting Court proceedings was displaying naivety, leading to such misleading information.
Which ever be the case the said fake news went viral to the extent that calls from outside the shores of this country started coming in.
It became talk of the town.
Civil servants gathered in groups discussing it, passengers boarding either commercial motorcycles, ‘okada’ or the tricycles were talking about it.
Markets, eateries and other public places – that was the topic of discussion.
As usual, there were frowned faces while some smiled away depending on the political divide one belongs.
Trust them, the ‘Obidients’ members of Labour Party LP as the news became stronger and stronger, they jubilated, what do you expect.
For hours, currency of this fake news was moving like tornadoes .
….. When Governor Oborevwori broke silence
Incidentally while the governor and some Commissioners were out there carrying out inspection of some ongoing projects to be inaugurated in commemoration of his l00 Days in office, phones kept on buzzing.
At that juncture, he instructed his Chief Press Secretary CPS, Sir Festus Ahon to go to press announcing that it was fake news.
Immediately, Ahon issued a press statement .
He wrote thus:
“Fake news, no court sacked Gov Oborevwori – Delta Govt
“We have been inundated by reports from a section of the media that the Appeal Court had declared Mr Ken Pela of the Labour Party as winner of the 2023 Governorship election in Delta State.
“The report is nothing but fake news as the Appellate Court only ordered the tribunal to hear the case.
“From the results declared by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it was obvious that the Labour Party did not win the election therefore couldn’t have won in court.
“Our people came out in large numbers to elect Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and they are happy with him. We therefore urge Party faithful and Deltans to disregard the said reports as it was a concoction from the Labour Party and their followers.
“We also urge Deltans to remain calm. As at the time of the fake news, Governor Oborevwori was busy inspecting various ongoing projects within Asaba and its environs. He is focused on delivering dividends of democracy to the people of the state and would not be distracted by the rumour mills.
“Our lawyers are studying the Appeal Court judgment with a view to taking necessary action”.
It was after the press statement from the governor that finally doused tension a bit as same went viral.
This brings to the fore the damage fake news can cause to the society especially a tension-soaked country like Nigeria.
That is why the social media should be closely monitored otherwise it could do much more harm than the traumatic experience many went through in Delta State simply because misinterpretation of a court judgment mischievously or lack of proper training as a communicator
This Reporter remembers those days working in a national newspaper, there are specialized beats, such as Aviation & Transport, Maritime, Crime, Judiciary, Sports, Labour and so on.
Although a well trained reporter should be able to cover all beats. But for instance there is going to be an international Golf tournament in Sokoto State for instance, the Sports Desk normally deploys a sports writer, not just a sports writer but vast in golf to that State to cover otherwise if left with the Bureau Chief on the ground, probably he or she doesn’t even know what is called tee-off in the game of golf.
Court coverage the same. Is a sensitive beat. It is to be reported as it is, no embellishments, state the facts as the Court has ruled.
So I don’t see any ambiguity when the Court ordered that the matter be returned to start afresh.
It is not the responsibility of the reporter to input his/her own views or views of litigants interviewed shortly after the judgment is delivered.
I therefore recommend that the appropriate authorities including the NUJ and regulators of the social media to fish the culprit who initiated the fake news report about the sacking of Governor Oborevwori whereas the judgement was a definitive one.
This is the kind of rubbish and embarrassment the nation gets when we have emergency journalists as long as they can write without the rudimentary training, no knowledge about press law, issue of national security etc.
Remember it was the same fake news that caused war within the small town of M’batto in south-central Côte d’Ivoire. One day in November 2020, residents woke up to the fake news. The nation had held a contentious presidential election just days earlier, and now social media was awash with stories of massacres in M’batto. Some said the violence was on the scale of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
This news had knock-on effects. Prominent opposition politicians like former prime minister Guillaume Soro called for the world to take note. Meanwhile, the gruesome stories almost certainly contributed to ethnic violence elsewhere in Côte d’Ivoire in which more than 50 people were killed.
So please before our ‘Emergency Reporters’ on the Social media set the country ablaze, let there be a rethink, let the appropriate authorities step up in monitoring and punishing offenders.
They are aboundance of laws to put offenders behind bars.
Enough is Enough!
