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News Commentary: Senator Godswill Akpabio ” Kpai in London”, Another Fake News

With these kind of satanic rumours and fake news, how can someone argue against the regulation of the social media to prevent the anguish these cousins of the devils bring to people and their families through peddling and sharing fake news.

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•Senator Godswill Akpabio

By Anietie Ekong

Over the weekend the internet was abuzz with the “news” that the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio had suddenly collapsed, rushed in an air ambulance and flown to London where he was admitted into the intensive care unit of an unnamed London hospital.

They claimed he was battling for his life in London.

Those who peddled this rumour and obviously fake news could swear that they saw when the Senate President allegedly collapsed while others said they heard it from their “sources” in London.

Indeed the rumours about Akpabio’s health status has become a periodic pastime and an industry of its own.

Two years ago, immediately after a colloquium at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, with President Bola Tinubu in attendance, to mark his 61st birthday, the same rumour mill took over: Senator Akpabio had collapsed and was rushed to London.

The following day, it became like a miracle that the same man they claimed was receiving treatment in London, showed up and met with the Senate Press Corps. The rumour died down, albeit temporarily.

Few months back the same narrative was reinvented by people whose only job is being authority of fake news concerning the health status of Senator Akpabio. Again they said he was hospitalzed in London.

Live videos with fellow Senators could not convince the doubting Thomases that Senator Akpabio was hale and hearty until his return to Nigeria few days later.Then the last weekend episode.

The peddlers of these fake news are not even creative. Same story, same narrative: Akpabio had collapsed and was rushed to the hospital in London. How many times does Akpabio have to collapse and rushed to London in a year?

As with everything Akpabio, bloggers jumped into the fray to drive traffic to their social media pages, and earn some dollars in the process.

When the “news” first filtered in, I wondered who they were talking about. Was it the same Godswill Akpabio, my boss, whom I had had a long chat with on Friday night cum Saturday morning or was it someone else? Was he chatting with me from the intensive care unit of the London hospital?

The most dangerous of these fake news carriers are those who repost the “news” with their fake sympathy: “Pray for Akpabio”, “I wish him quick recovery,” “Nothing must happen to Akpabio.” “May God heal him.”

In the voice of Chief Nyesom Wike: fake, fake, fake.

As with everything Akpabio, bloggers jumped into the fray to drive traffic to their social media pages, and earn some dollars in the process.

They did live videos and one even said Akpabio had “kpai” in London.

I had only one word for Journalists who reached out to me to “confirm” this story: don’t take my denial for it, wait till Tuesday and see who would preside over the Senate plenary.

Then on the first legislative sitting day of the week, the same man they claimed was battling for his life in an intensive care unit of a hospital showed up and presided over an extended plenary that lasted well into the evening, where major decisions were taken by the Senate without showing any signs of distress.

With these kind of satanic rumours and fake news, how can someone argue against the regulation of the social media to prevent the anguish these cousins of the devils bring to people and their families through peddling and sharing fake news.

The fake news carriers never said never. As early as tomorrow they can cook another one again.We wait till the next episode.

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Burial begins for Oyo school teacher killed by JAS terrorist group

The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.

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The burial arrangements for Adesiyan Adegboye, the teacher killed during last Friday’s coordinated attack on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, began on Friday at Ayegun Baptist Church, Ogbomoso.

Adegboye, 49, was shot dead during the invasion carried out by armed bandits at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, and L.A. Primary School, Esiele.

The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.

The attackers reportedly stormed the schools around 9:30am, abducting several teachers and students during the operation that threw the communities into panic.

Following the incident, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, visited the affected area on Saturday and ordered the deployment of additional detectives from the Force Headquarters in Abuja to support ongoing rescue efforts.

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FG launches GovGuideNigeria to boost citizens governance access

GovGuideNigeria platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.

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The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijan, has said that Nigerians can now access the government information and services through the newly launched GovGuideNigeria.

The artificial intelligence-powered platform was launched on May 21 by the government in collaboration with Meta, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), and local developer partner Publica AI.

According to the Minister, the platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.

Tijani stated that the platform provides users with easy access to information from more than 35 federal ministries and over 60 government agencies.

He described the initiative as part of the government’s efforts to improve public service delivery through technology and digital innovation.

Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy, Meta, said during the launch “Meta’s open-source AI is critical to economic growth and productivity — and GovGuide Nigeria, is a clear example of what this looks like in practice.

Ignatius Willie, CEO, Publica AI said, “Today is not just a product launch. It is a step towards democratising how Nigerians engage with their government. With GovGuide Nigeria, we are not simply digitising access to public services; we are making them conversational, multilingual, and available on the channels Nigerians already use every day.

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DHQ says JAS terrorists carried out Oyo kidnap

The DHQ denied reports suggesting it referred to terrorists operating in the South-West as ordinary criminals, insisting that such interpretations were inaccurate and misleading.

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Photo: Maj Gen Michael Onoja

The Defence Headquarters disclosed that the attackers behind the Oyo abduction were members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad terrorist group displaced by sustained military offensives across the country.

Latest week, schools in communities at Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, were attacked by terrorists ; they abducted pupils, teachers and other residents from Community High School, Ahoro-Esinle.

The incident also left several persons dead, while one of the abducted teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was later killed after a video linked to the attack surfaced online.

In a statement signed by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Michael Onoja, the DHQ confirmed said that the attack was perpetrated by terrorists of the JAS Group that have been dislodged from other parts of the country due to high-intensity operations being conducted all over the country.

The DHQ denied reports suggesting it referred to terrorists operating in the South-West as ordinary criminals, insisting that such interpretations were inaccurate and misleading.

“It is, therefore, inaccurate and misleading to suggest that the Defence Headquarters, at any point, referred to vicious and violent terrorists as criminals,” Onoja stated

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