President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his commitment to fighting cybercrime and the abuse of technology through hate speech and other divisive materials being propagated on social media.
Buhari said this during his nationwide broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 59th independence anniversary in Abuja on Tuesday.
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The president enjoined all citizens to always exercise restraint, tolerance and mutual respect in airing their grievances and frustrations.
“Whilst we uphold the constitutional rights of our people to freedom of expression and association, where the purported exercise of these rights infringes on the rights of other citizens or threatens to undermine our national security, we will take firm and decisive action,” he said.
“In this regard, I reiterate my call for all to exercise restraint, tolerance and mutual respect in airing their grievances and frustrations.
“Whilst the ongoing national discourse on various political and religious issues is healthy and welcome, we must not forget the lessons of our past – lessons that are most relevant on a day such as this.”
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Buhari also said that the nation owed a lot to the military for the fight against Boko Haram.
“In the last four years, we have combatted the terrorist scourge of Boko Haram,” he said.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to our gallant men and women in arms, through whose efforts we have been able to achieve the present results.
“We are also grateful to our neighbours and allies – within the region and across the world – who have supported us on this front.”
He reassured that the capacity of the armed forces to defend the nation’s territorial integrity would continue to be enhanced by the acquisition of military hardware as well as continued improvements in the working conditions of the security personnel.
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The president noted with delight that in the past four years, the majority of Nigerians had committed to “change for the better”.
He, therefore, urged all Nigerians to remain committed to “achieving this positive and enduring change.”
