In the wake of a trending hashtag #RevolutionNow on the various media outlet, the Presidency has placed a right group, Amnesty International (AI)operating in Nigeria, under security watch list. The move became necessary following the retweeting of the said hashtag by the organization, calling for a national revolution in the country.
The Presidency disclosed that the organization is being watched to determine its interest in the purported nationwide “revolution” protest being planned for August 5th and being promoted through #RevolutionNow.
Speaking on the move, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, GarbaShehudisclosed that the presidency was surprised that the organization (AI) reproduced a message posted on the social media by the organizers of the protest. He added that the decision to put the organization on the watch list was also arrived at based on its past anti-government posture.
The SA to the President on media further quoted saying “There is a hashtag calling for revolution. A revolution means to overthrow Nigeria’s constitution. Those behind the move have sent out messages that they will start the revolution on August 5. “Amnesty International, Nigeria Office retweeted that message. The government has been having sleepless nights over consistent reports by Amnesty International which have been projecting the government in a bad light.
Garba also revealed that, when an official from the presidency enquired why the AI retweeted the message and whether the official twitter handle of the organization was hacked, instead of a good response, the organization (AI) only deleted the tweet.
