FUNAM is Non-Existence Body-CITAD Declares

By Ishola Michael- Bauchi.

FULANI National Movement (FUNAM), purported to be a Fulani interest movement has been described as a non-existence body which was just created by someone with an interest in stocking the fire of violence in the country.

This declaration was made by the Programmes Officer of Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Bauchi Office, Mohammed Chiroma Hassan while addressing Journalists Tuesday at the NUJ Press Center on the ills of fake news and hate speeches being circulated by different platforms that do not have definite and traceable fixed addresses.

Chiroma Hassan declared that research carried out by CITAD revealed that sentiment and selfish agenda has given people the momentum to become information givers while recklessness has encouraged same people to use technology for bad by manufacturing lies and disseminate same on websites, groups and pages on Facebook to make readers emotional and sometimes even react violently.

While analysing the recent Jos crisis, CITAD observed that various press statements on the crisis in circulation carried strange names of signatories and associations of certain people making provocative remarks and making demands which rather than calm the situation down are aggravating it by reinforcing the desire for vengeance in different parties involved.

It added that condoning this unfortunate act will obviously mean that peace, stability and mediation efforts will go nowhere since they are sabotaged or challenged by crisis advocates.

CITAD therefore draw the attention of all and sundry particularly stakeholders and specifically the governments at all levels to rise against fake news and hate speeches by deeply tracing the source of websites that promote violence of any kind and bring them to book as well as subject press statements\releases to various forms of scrutiny in order to validate the authenticity of unions\associations and personalities that issue the information.

It also called for strong vetting of contents of statements to ensure there are no claims or statements that will put people into negative action or promote provocative utterances from groups, unions, personalities or bodies, enhancing the sensitisation of people on the circulation of contaminated information and above all take down websites that are seen to be fuelling crisis among people of different religious and tribal backgrounds and then prosecute such medium that are found wanting.

CITAD concluded that governments at all levels should address key drivers of hate speech in the country by improving transparency in governance, impartiality in the anti-corruption agenda, sticking to the rule of law and elevate the level of consultations with citizens on key issues and addressing existing conflicts by bringing them to closure.

CITAD Flays Use Of Social Media To Fuel Ethnic/Religious Crisis

By Patience Ogbodo Iwuagwu.

A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), has cautioned against fuelling ethnic religious conflict and killings through the use of social media.

Addressing a press conference at NUJ Secretariat in Bauchi, Mohammed Chiroma Hassan, Programme Officer of CITAD, lamented that the circulation of fake news was behind the series of violence recorded in the country.

He said, “It’s unfortunate that communication issue has been stoking the fire of violence in the country. This is the circulation of fake news, especially in the social media has been fuelling ethno-religious conflicts and killings in the country.

“Amidst recurring loss of life and property in many parts of Nigeria, another serious or rather unnoticed danger is brewing with a wildfire effect; this danger is nothing but circulation of fake press statements/releases that are widely circulated online. An example of this is the purported release by a non-existent group ‘Fulani National Movement (FUNAM)’ claiming to justify reprisal killings because the cows of herders have been killed. We have researched into the so-called movement and it is clear that someone with an interest in stoking the fire of violence is behind the fake association,” he said.

Hassan stated: “Sentiment and selfish agenda has given people the momentum to become information givers while recklessness has encouraged some people to use technology for bad, yes for bad because they manufacture lies and disseminate on websites, groups and pages on Facebook, the effect of these fake updates is that when people read them, they become emotional and sometimes react violently.

NGO Advises Online Media to Move Against Hate Speeches

By News Agency of Nigeria.

A Kano based Non Governmental Organisation, Centre for Information Technology and Development, has advised Online Newspapers to regulate their sites against hate speeches.

Malam Hamza Ibrahim, the spokesperson of CITAD gave the advice on Wednesday at a media briefing organised by the association in Kano.

According to Ibrahim, the organisation has tracked 175 hate speeches on the social media for the month of June which were used at various platforms.

He said that about 28 per cent of the recorded speeches were religious based while 36 per cent were tribal based and 1.7 percent was politically motivated.

He said: “The languages used for the hate speeches in May as we monitored were English and pidgin.”

The CITAD spokesman however, appealed to traditional and religious leaders at different capacities to create avenues of sentisitising and cautioning people against hate speeches.

Ibrahim described hate speeches as “anti peace and anti development’ which people must avoid.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that CITAD in partnership with MacArthur Foundation had been monitoring and countering hate speeches on media platforms since 2014.

Fake News on Social Media Caused Ethno-Religious War

By Bashir Muhammad, Kano.

Project Coordinator, Hate Speech, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Malam Hamza Ibrahim, has declared that the proliferation of fake news on Social Media Platform was responsible for the ethno-religious conflicts rocking the country.

Speaking in Kano yesterday, Ibrahim said “sentiments and selfish agenda have given people the momentum to become information givers, while recklessness has encouraged some people to use technology for evil machinations as they manufacture and concoct lies and disseminate on websites, groups and pages of Facebook.”

Ibrahim said “the repercussions of fake updates was that when people read them they become emotional and sometimes react violently,” adding that “various press statements on the crisis in Jos carried strange names of signatories and associations of certain people making provocative remarks on the crisis and setting conditions or making demands.”

He said another portion of the danger “are emerging websites that tag themselves as online newspapers whose ultimate goal is to bring into collision one ethnic or religious group against the other through uploading violence sparking pieces.”

“We have over the last one year monitored how the use of fake images and news especially in the Social Media impacted negatively on mutual coexistence and respect between people of different religious and tribal backgrounds. it is sad that many people are falling into the traps of such publications whose aim is to divide the country.

“Concrete action ought to be taken to curtail it. There are undoubtedly millions of Nigerians on different social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, because these sites and web pages make it easy for people to posts contents.

“We want use this medium to draw the attention of all and sundry on this unfortunate practice and strongly add that stakeholders and especially the government at different levels and the media need to ruse against it.”

Fake News Fueling Ethno-Religious Conflict, Killings In Nigeria

 By Solase Base. 

A nongovernmental organization,  Centre For Information Technology and Development  (CITAD) on Monday  raised alarm over increasing online news platform circulating fake news, images and calling on government to take appropriate action to check the trend.

CITAD said the circulation of fake news and pictures especially on the social media is a contributory factor fueling ethno-religious conflict and killings around the country.

Hate Speech Project Coordinator of the NGO, Hamza Ibrahim stated this on Monday at a news conference held in Kano.

Hamza Ibrahim said the new trend of fake news observed recently is the circulation fake press statements/ releases that are widely circulated online citing example of a non-existing group ,Fulani National Movement (FUNAM) justifying the killing in Plateau state  as a reprisal attack to killing of Cows of Herders which investigation has shown that such organization does not exist at all.

“Sentiment and selfish agenda has given people the momentum to become information –givers while recklessness has encouraged same people to use technology for bad, manufacture lies and disseminate on websites, groups, and pages on Facebook,” said Hamza Ibrahim.

“The effect of these fake news updates is that when people read them they become emotional and sometimes react violently. Any careful reader might have noticed various press statements on Jos crisis in circulation, they carry strange names of signatories and associations of certain people making provocative remarks on the crisis and setting conditions or making demands. Rather than calm the situation down, the statements aggravate it by reinforcing the desire for vengeance in different parties involved.”

He said there is a rise of new wave of online news platform  which are set up to promote violent conflict in the country , noting that another variant of fake news is when Journalists sit down and invent interviews and attribute statements to known or unknown persons.

Hamza Ibrahim advocated measures to curtails the menace that include tracing the source of the websites that promote violence of any kind and bring them to book , subject press releases/statements to various forms of scrutiny in order to validate the authenticity and not promote provocative utterances.

“Taking down websites that are seen to be fuelling crisis amongst people of different religious and tribal backgrounds. Also prosecuting mediums that are found wanting,” said Ibrahim.

He commended media outlets that have consistently shot their doors to hate speech and fake news.

He urged Nigerians not to allow themselves to be use as it is clear that politicians profit from the use of hate speech but ultimately it is the citizens and the country that are the losers in this.

CITAD Records 221 Hate,Dangerous Speeches In March

By Solace Base.

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) appealed to people and users of social media platform to develop the idea of reporting hate and Dangerous speeches so as to reduce the prevalence and forestall crisis it may lead to.

CITAD Assistant program officer, Sunusi Shazalli Sulaiman made the call on Thursday at the monthly briefing of the centre on monitoring and countering Hate and Dangerous Speeches for the month of March.

He said the data analysis indicates that 221 hate and dangerous speeches were recorded with ethnicity and religious speeches dominating the activity for the month.

Sunusi Shazalli Sulaiman said males involve in hate and dangerous speeches during the period were 92.3% and 2.7% were females while 0.5% did not reveal their identity.

He advised the social user platforms to always report such, as the offenders can be blocked from creating havoc.

He called for media support to educate the populace on the dangers associated with hate and dangerous speeches which can lead to violence.

Solacebase reports that CITAD monthly monitor and counter Hate and Dangerous Speeches but could not disseminate this for some months this year as its website was attacked by hackers.

CITAD Holds Debate On Insurgency In Adamawa

By Hammangabdo Yola.

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), has organized an advocacy debate among students of tertiary institutions as strategy to end insurgency in Adamawa state. The executive director of CITAD, Mr Yunus Zakari, while declaring the maiden debate open in Yola, said the debate was organized to provide the youths a platform to discuss and proffer solutions to the insurgency crisis in the North-East region. The participating institutions were: Moddibo Adama University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State University, Mubi, and Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, in collaboration with the  North East Regional Initiative (NERI). Zakari said similar discussion would be organized for students in Borno and Yobe states, adding that there is plan to extend it to students in neigbouring countries of Chad, Cameroon and Niger. He said the presentations and suggestions by the students would be made available to relevant stakeholders, including policy makers. Earlier,Adamawa Programme Manager of NERI, Mr Machill Maxwell, said NERI has been supporting interventions in areas ravaged by insurgency and such positive mobilization of the youths was one of such supports “This is one of our soft activities where people are encouraged to sit together and talk and come up with ideas on how  to find solutions to the crisis that has bedeviled the North East.

NEYIF, CITAD Hold Social Accountability Meeting in Yobe

 

By Musa M. Buba Damaturu.

A one-day stakeholders’ meeting organised by non-governmental organisation, North East Youth Initiatives for Development (NEYIF), in collaboration with the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), has ended in Damaturu with a call on the government to enact law for wider sensitisation of public on budgetary processes in Yobe state.

NEYIF’s Executive Director, Dauda Mohammed Gombe, said “the meeting is aimed at engaging stakeholders in promoting social accountability in the education sector in the Northeastern Nigeria.”

“Yobe is one of the backward states educationally in the country and recently has engaged on developmental projects, with the establishment of Bureau for Public Procurement in order to get value of money spent,” he said.

Gombe lamented the establishment of the Bureau for Public Procurement had reduced almost 50 percentage of their responsibilities, and called for capacity building of the newly appointed procurement officers that had less knowledge on budgetary process.

Earlier, the Senior Programme Officer of the CITAD, Isa Garba, said for the public procurement board to “work effectively and efficiently, there is need to bring stakeholders in a round table for transparency and accountability to be able to key in observations or proffer solution to challenges being faced.”

Our correspondent reports that the meeting drew participants from civil society organisations, media and stakeholders.

CITAD Engages Students To Combat Hate Speech

By Haruna Gimba Yaya, Gombe. 

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has conducted a two-day sensitization workshop for students of tertiary institutions to combat hate speech.

The workshop which held in Gombe had participants drawn from schools in the six states of the North-east geopolitical zone.

 The Executive Director of the centre, Dr Yunusa Zakari Ya’u, said they engaged students of higher institution of learning because they constituted 80 per cent of the social media presence, especially on Facebook and WhatsApp where most hate speeches are been perpetrated.

He said the workshop aimed at expanding the perception of the participants on how to curtail the spread of hate speech in Nigeria ahead of the 2019 general elections.

He said CITAD seeks to discourage them from using the free space provided by the online and social media, to carry out hate or any dangerous speech capable of causing violence in the country.

“The use of technological tools in combating hate speech becomes necessary bearing in mind the damages hate speech has done to the country, especially during previous elections. Because peace can only prevail when we live in a hate speech free society,” Ya’u said.

CITAD Flays Use Of Social Media To Fuel Ethnic/Religious Crisis

By Patience Ogbodo Iwuagwu.

Bauchi – A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), has cautioned against fuelling ethnic religious conflict and killings through the use of social media.

Addressing a press conference at NUJ Secretariat in Bauchi, Mohammed Chiroma Hassan, Programme Officer of CITAD, lamented that the circulation of fake news was behind the series of violence recorded in the country.

He said, “It’s unfortunate that communication issue has been stoking the fire of violence in the country. This is the circulation of fake news, especially in the social media has been fuelling ethno-religious conflicts and killings in the country.

“Amidst recurring loss of life and property in many parts of Nigeria, another serious or rather unnoticed danger is brewing with a wildfire effect; this danger is nothing but circulation of fake press statements/releases that are widely circulated online. An example of this is the purported release by a non-existent group ‘Fulani National Movement (FUNAM)’ claiming to justify reprisal killings because the cows of herders have been killed. We have researched into the so-called movement and it is clear that someone with an interest in stoking the fire of violence is behind the fake association,” he said.

Hassan stated: “Sentiment and selfish agenda has given people the momentum to become information givers while recklessness has encouraged some people to use technology for bad, yes for bad because they manufacture lies and disseminate on websites, groups and pages on Facebook, the effect of these fake updates is that when people read them, they become emotional and sometimes react violently.

“Any careful reader might have noticed various press statements on Jos crisis in circulation. They carry strange names of signatories and associations of certain people, making provocative remarks on the crisis and setting conditions. Rather calm the situation, the statements aggravate it by reinforcing the desire for vengeance,” he said.

CITAD Engages Students to Combat Hate Speech

By Haruna Gimba Yaya.

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has conducted a two-day sensitization workshop for students of tertiary institutions to combat hate speech.

The workshop which held in Gombe had participants drawn from schools in the six states of the North-east geopolitical zone.

 The Executive Director of the centre, Dr Yunusa Zakari Ya’u, said they engaged students of higher institution of learning because they constituted 80 per cent of the social media presence, especially on Facebook and WhatsApp where most hate speeches are been perpetrated.

He said the workshop aimed at expanding the perception of the participants on how to curtail the spread of hate speech in Nigeria ahead of the 2019 general elections.

He said CITAD seeks to discourage them from using the free space provided by the online and social media, to carry out hate or any dangerous speech capable of causing violence in the country.

“The use of technological tools in combating hate speech becomes necessary bearing in mind the damages hate speech has done to the country, especially during previous elections. Because peace can only prevail when we live in a hate speech free society,” Ya’u said.

Students Debate On Insurgency Rounded Up in Yola, Adamawa State

By Hassan Sharpella, from Yola. 
The Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola (MAUTECH) has emerged overral winner at the Regional Inter Tertiary Institutions debate on Insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin organized by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) with the support of the North East Regional Initiative (NERI).
Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri came second while Federal Polytechnic Damaturu clinched the third position.
 
The participating institutions came first at the state level of the competition on finding lasting solutions to insurgency and challenges posed by displaced persons in the North which was held in Yola, Adamawa state, Damaturu, Yobe state and Maiduguri,. Borno state in the last two months.
 
Speaking at the event which was held at the  Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola on Saturday 9/6/2018, the Executive Director Centre for Information Technology and Development CITAD, Mr Yunus Zakari, said the debate was organised to generate a variety of youth responses to the issues of insurgency crisis in the Lake Chad Basin.
 
“this debate is not the conventional one where one team proposes a topic and another oppose it., but to generate ideas by the young ones on solutions to the insurgency problem in the North East” He said.
 
Prof. Shehu Iya,  the Acting Vice Chancellor Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola in a remark noted that the issue of insurgency in the North East of Nigeria has come to an end and ideas generated by students outside their field of specialization will be use for development.
 
“it is knowledge that derives the economy in the developed countries, which serves as a guide for other countries to follow”. He added
 
He further said “this type of debate will help government in fighting the insurgency” and assured that the Institution will support students to enable them become responsible members of the society.
 
At the end of debate winners went home with various prizes including Laptops, Desktop computer Android phones among others.

MAUTECH Emerges Winner Of Inter Tertiary Institutions Debate On Insurgency

BY MOHAMMED ISMAIL.
MAUTECH Emerges Winner Of Inter Tertiary Institutions Debate On Insurgency
The Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), Yola has emerged the winner of tertiary institutions debate on finding lasting solutions to insurgency and challenges posed by displaced persons in the North East.
The debate was organized by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) with the support of the North East Regional Initiative (NERI), an NGO.
Speaking at the occasion, the Executive Director of CITAD, Mr Yunus Zakari said the debate was organized to generate variety of responses to the issue of insurgency crisis in North East and Lake Chad Basin.
“This debate is to generate ideas from the young ones on solutions to the insurgency problem,” Zakari said.
While congratulating the participants, Zakari said their contributions would be made available to relevant stakeholders, including policy makers for consideration.
Also speaking, the Acting Vice Chancellor of MAUTECH, Prof. Shehu Iya, lauded the ideas generated by the students and urged for its consideration for the purpose intended.
“This type of debate will help government in fighting the insurgency,” Iya said.
Three institutions that emerged first in their respective states participated in the final held in Yola.
The institutions are: MAUTECH for Adamawa, Ramat Polytechnic  for Borno and Federal Polytechnic Damaturu for Yobe.

Regional Inter-Tertiary Institutions Students’ Debate on Insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin Held in Yola.

By Hamza Ibrahim.

In continuation of the search for ideas, perspectives and mechanisms of addressing insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has with support from North East Regional Initiative (NERI) engaged students of tertiary institutions in the insurgency-ravaged North East region in debates to showcase their ideas on resuscitating the region. Before the regional, there have been state level debates in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states where three different tertiary institutions participated. In Yobe, Federal University Gashua, State University Damaturu and Federal Polytechnic Damaturu competed and Federal Polytechnic won. In Borno, Ramat Polytechnic and University of Maiduguri took part and Ramat Polytechnic became winner. In Adamawa, Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH) Yola, State University Mubi and Federal Polytechnic Mubi participated and MAUTECH emerged winner. Therefore, MAUTECH representing Adamawa, Ramat Polytechnic, Borno and Federal Polytechnic Damaturu, Yobe earlier secured points to compete at the regional debate that took place today (9th June, 2018) in Yola.

Giving welcome remarks at the beginning of the debate, Executive Director of CITAD, Y.Z. Ya’u said the debate is aimed at harvesting the best ideas from young people in order to place them before decision makers so as to address the problem of insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin. He emphasized the role of young people in bringing positive change in their societies hinting that youthful age is a resource that should be efficiently utilized by the youths, “if our young people organized themselves, identified key objectives that they want to achieve, they are capable of achieving the set objectives, the “not too young to run” is a good example”. Elaborating on youth potentials, Ya’u added, “young people have energy, we believe they have ideas, and it is in the spirit of leveraging those ideas that we organized the debate”. Y.Z. Ya’u further challenged the youths to offer concrete solutions capable of getting the North East region out of insurgency.

Also giving a goodwill message, representative of the North East Regional Initiative (NERI), Ikey Omoigiade observed that large chunk of Nigeria’s population is made up of youths, therefore carrying them along in decision making process will be a great asset to the country. Giving brief background on NERI, Mr. Omoigiade said “North East Regional Initiative (NERI) is a four year USAID programme and it’s aim is to fund and support civil society groups, communities, the Nigerian government as well as other stakeholders and to deliver assistance by awarding small grants to local and international partners working in the North East”.

Also giving a goodwill message, the host for the debate, Vice Chancellor of Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Shehu Iya expressed his happiness for being asked to host the debate, he commended organizers of the event by framing it in such a way that it is not “for or against”, but the desire to generate robust ideas towards addressing insurgency in the North East. Prof. Iya noted that in developed countries it is the knowledge that drives the economy, and these are the kinds of issues that are being generated within the walls of universities or the tertiary institutions that are being used to be the fulcrum of development. Prof. Iya added that the debate ideas will surely assist the government in defeating the insurgency.

Four questions were outlined for the team of three participants from the three institutions to choose, and the questions were: a-how will the Presidential Committee on North East Initiatives (PCNI) be more effective in its intervention in the region from the youths point of view?, b-how can youths unemployment be addressed in the North East? Perspectives from youths, c-how would youths contribute in promoting safety and security in schools in North East?, d-in what organizational forms will students of tertiary institutions be more effective in contributing to curbing extremism among youths?

The participating students have brainstormed and proffered different solutions to all the questions raised, panel of judges of made their assessment based on the performance of the students and finally the chair of the panel, Mrs. Dora Alahira announced the result. Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH) took first position with 183 points, Ramat Polytechnic second position with 163 points and Federal Polytechnic Damaturu the third position with 162 points. As prize for the first position MAUTECH was given 1 desk top computer, 2 laptops and a 500GB external disc, coming second, Ramat Polytechnic was 1 desk top computer, 3 Techno Ipads and 500GB external hard disc, the third position prize 1 desk top computer, 3 Samsung Ipads and 500GB external hard disc was given to Federal Polytechnic Damaturu. The regional inter-tertiary institutions students’ debate was attended by VC MAUTECH, NERI delegation, Adamawa Commissioner of Education, Professors from MAUTECH, lecturers and students from the three schools and other schools, other professionals, media, etc.

NGO Advises Online Newspapers To Move Against Hate Speeches

Malam Hamza Ibrahim, the spokesperson of CITAD gave the advice on Wednesday at a media briefing organised by the association in Kano.

A Kano based Non Governmental Organisation, Centre for Information Technology and Development, has advised Online Newspapers to regulate their sites against hate speeches.
Malam Hamza Ibrahim, the spokesperson of CITAD gave the advice on Wednesday at a media briefing organised by the association in Kano.
According to Ibrahim, the organisation has tracked 175 hate speeches on the social media for the month of June which were used at various platforms.
He said that about 28 per cent of the recorded speeches were religious based while 36 per cent were tribal based and 1.7 percent was politically motivated.
He said: “The languages used for the hate speeches in May as we monitored were English and pidgin.”
The CITAD spokesman however, appealed to traditional and religious leaders at different capacities to create avenues of sentisitising and cautioning people against hate speeches.
Ibrahim described hate speeches as “anti peace and anti development’ which people must avoid.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that CITAD in partnership with MacArthur Foundation had been monitoring and countering hate speeches on media platforms since 2014.