Senator Ned Nwoko has broken his silence after a man who accused him of sponsoring a plot to kill his wife, Regina Daniels, publicly retracted the claim and begged for forgiveness.
The allegation, which surfaced on TikTok and quickly went viral, had initially stirred outrage after the man claimed he was offered N5 million to carry out the attack. In a new video now circulating online, the same man is seen appealing to the senator and admitting that the story was fabricated for attention.
Sharing the clip on his page, Nwoko described the incident as a clear example of the growing dangers of misinformation on social media.
“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. 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 warned that the ease with which people escape consequences encourages the spread of false and harmful narratives.
“Knowing that there could be evasion of consequences because they can easily prey on the emotions of Nigerians encourages this deviant behavior… You can’t lie to make money and turn around to apologize after criminally defaming and hurting people.”
Nwoko also renewed his call for tighter regulation of social media companies, insisting they must be held accountable for the content shared 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. If landlords are being threatened with punishments for actions of their tenants who are yahoo boys, what stops social media companies from being held responsible for allowing defamatory contents in their platforms.”
He questioned why Nigerian media houses operate under strict defamation laws while foreign tech companies, which do not pay taxes locally, continue to function without similar obligations.
“All our local media houses comply with laws concerning defamation. Why make an exception for foreign companies who don’t pay taxes and ultimately avoid all manner of liabilities because of the absence of regulations.”
The senator concluded by urging Nigerians to support his social media regulation bill, noting that it would create jobs, boost tax revenue, make lawsuits easier to pursue locally, assist in tracking criminal activities, and ensure that national data is not controlled by foreign interests.
“It’s Senator Ned today, who knows who is next?”
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