FG Clamps Down On Online Newspapers, Others | Tribune

The Federal Government has begun secret moves that will see a number of online newspapers, blogs and websites perceived to constitute “threat to national security” permanently shut down.

Social media and Internet users may also not be exempted from the clampdown which will begin any moment from now.

The closest clue in what has been interpreted as an indirect attempt to gag the press and suppress opposing views since the advent of the current administration is the controversial bill to regulate social media which has passed second reading in the Senate.

Sunday Tribune can reveal authoritatively that the government, through the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), has engaged the services of a firm in Lagos to block the domain names of “several identified websites threatening national security.”

The Office of the National Security Adviser drew the list of the offensive websites and the number is in excess of 21, a memo written by NCC, a copy of which Sunday Tribune got said.

The letter, which was dated 20th October, 2017, is a reminder memo to the firm, indicating that other letters had earlier been written to the firm by NCC.

The memo was entitled: “Re: Request to Prevent the Commission of an Offence under Section 146 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.”

It was signed by NCC’s Head, Legal and Regulatory Services, one Yetunde Akinloye, while an official of the agency co-signed on behalf of Engineer Haru Alhassan who is the Director, New Media and Information Security.

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