Boko Haram turns to social media, Government says

(ABUJA)

The Federal Government on Tuesday, January 31, said that the decimated Boko Haram terror group had refocused its resources to a media and propaganda campaign against the nation.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, urged Nigerians, and the media in particular, to unite against terrorism by denying Boko Haram platforms to spread its ideology.

Mohammed said the decimated group had “shifted its strategy toward dominating the media space, propagating a perverted version of Shariah law and giving the impression that it is still holding territory.’’

He said the propaganda strategy was discovered from materials left behind by the terrorists after they were routed from their last stronghold in Sambisa.

“The materials include documents, phones and computers that contained detailed information on the Boko Haram media and propaganda strategy.

“An analysis of the materials reveals Boko Haram’s training in videography as well as how they sought and received training from other terrorists groups on video recording and manipulation.

“The documents, written in Arabic, also outlined the media strategy that Boko Haram Commanders should employ and how the surviving members should ensure the propagation of the Boko Haram doctrine using Social Media,’’ he said.

The Minister said the recovered materials confirmed the announcement of a new media wing called ”Wadi Baya” (Clear Speech) by Boko Haram in an audio released by the group on January 17, following its routing from Sambisa.

Mohammed said that the media and public should be careful about unwittingly providing the terrorists with the oxygen of publicity that they desperately needed.

(Source: NAN)

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