Social media anarchists, greatest threat to democracy, national survival — Shettima

Nigeria’s democratic future and the safety of its media came under sharp focus on Tuesday as Vice President Kashim Shettima, Minister of Information Mohammed Idris, and leading editors addressed journalists at the 2025 International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria Conference and Annual General Meeting in Abuja.

Speaking at the event themed “Addressing Media Repression and Safeguarding Democratic Accountability in Nigeria,” Vice President Shettima warned that while the mainstream media remains critical to nation-building, the rise of social media anarchists poses a greater threat to the country’s stability and democratic survival.

Shettima, while addressing the media practitioners, commended the Nigerian press as one of the most vibrant in the world but said its biggest challenge now lies outside traditional newsrooms.

“The greatest threat to our democracy and our national survival is not the mainstream media; the anarchists in the social media are the greatest threat,” he declared.

The Vice President recounted how a photograph of him dining with Fulani community members, whom some online commentators falsely labelled as bandits, went viral, illustrating what he described as deliberate digital misinformation.

“I have developed thick skin to such accusations. But none of the serious media houses took those stories,” he said, noting that social media misinformation undermines public trust and fuels national division.

He urged journalists to save democracy by upholding ethics, confronting disinformation, and monitoring power with integrity rather than vendetta.

Information Minister Mohammed Idris challenged assumptions that the current administration is repressing the media, insisting that President Bola Tinubu’s government has shown restraint and commitment to press freedom.

“If the theme suggests an active, systemic policy of repression by the current administration, we must interrogate it against evidence,” he said.

Idris cited a recent national controversy sparked by a false report alleging that a sovereign agreement required Nigeria to adopt LGBTQ+ rights. Rather than clamp down on the offending publication, he said, the government released the full agreement, issued rebuttals, and allowed the independent ombudsman to review the complaint.

“This episode demonstrates our restraint. We defended press freedom by defending the integrity of the information space”, he said.

Idris also announced that Nigeria has been selected to host a new regional Media and Information Literacy Institute, a pan-African hub for training journalists and citizens to fight disinformation.

In his welcome address, IPI Nigeria President Musikilu Mojeed painted a stark picture of deteriorating press freedom across the country.

He noted that Nigeria dropped ten places, from 112 to 122, in the global Press Freedom Index, citing what he called consistent and aggressive repression.

“The Nigerian media landscape is in distress. Journalists are monitored, attacked, and arbitrarily arrested. Media houses are shut down for political reasons”, Mojeed warned.

He listed cases of reporters arrested under cybercrime laws, assaults during protests, and the abduction of investigative journalist Segun Olatunji as evidence of worsening conditions.

“Journalism is not a crime. Any further attack on journalists will be fiercely resisted”,” Mojeed said.

He urged the Federal Government to rein in state governors and security agencies, strengthen protection mechanisms for journalists, and review laws that enable media harassment.

Despite their differing emphases, all speakers underscored the need for cooperation between the government and the media to protect Nigeria’s democratic integrity.

Shettima appealed for a relationship rooted in openness rather than hostility, while Idris pledged to remain an unwavering voice for media freedom within the Federal Executive Council.

IPI Nigeria urged solidarity among journalists and insisted that only a united press could withstand growing threats.

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