Billionaire Senator Ned Nwoko has responded to a recent apology from a young man who falsely claimed that the lawmaker paid him and others N5 million each to murder his estranged wife, actress Regina Daniels.
The allegation emerged days ago after a video circulated online showing the young man accusing Nwoko of orchestrating a plot to kill the actress. The video quickly went viral, sparking widespread reactions across social media.
Following the viral video, Senator Nwoko threatened to take legal action against those involved. Soon after, the young man issued an apology, admitting that his earlier claim was fabricated and created solely “as content.”
Despite the retraction, Nwoko issued a detailed response addressing the broader issue of misinformation and unregulated online activity in Nigeria.
In a comprehensive letter reacting to the apology, Senator Ned Nwoko described the incident as indicative of the growing dangers posed by unregulated content on social media.
He wrote: “The accompanying video, trended a couple of days ago. It is testament to the fact that Nigerian social media space has become one of the most unregulated in the world.”
According to him, making severe allegations to attract views has now become a trend with little regard for the damage such actions cause.
“Laying very serious allegations have become a common trait to attract millions of views without recourse to the damaging effects on the people involved.”
He added that many content creators exploit the emotions of Nigerians because they believe they can evade consequences.
“Knowing that there could be evasion of consequences because they can easily prey on the emotions of Nigerians encourages this deviant behaviour.”
Nwoko noted that the incident further validates the need for the social media regulation bill currently before the National Assembly.
“This case and many others has now clearly justified the urgent need for the social media bill in the national assembly. You can’t lie to make money and turn around to apologize after criminally defaming and hurting people.”
He called for a system where social media companies will be legally required to open offices in Nigeria and take responsibility for content published on their platforms.
“It is time for social media companies to be mandated to open offices in Nigeria and to take responsibility for what they allow on their platforms.”
The senator argued that if landlords can be held accountable for the actions of tenants involved in internet fraud, then social media companies should also be held responsible for hosting defamatory or harmful content.
