*Blames Twitter CEO for loss of lives
The government has blamed Twitter founder Jack Dorsey for being liable for the losses Nigeria suffered in the aftermath of the EndSARS protest against police brutality.
Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, said in a radio interview in Abuja that Dorsey raised funds through Bitcoins to sponsor the protest while his platform, Twitter, was used to fuel the crisis.
He said when he made the allegations earlier, Nigerians did not take him serious until an online media outfit carried out an investigation and fact-checking.
The minister said the online publication confirmed that Dorsey retweeted some of the posts by some of the coalitions supporting the EndSARS protest.
He said it was also confirmed that the Twitter founder launched a fundraising asking people to donate via Bitcoins. He added that the Twitter founder launched an Emoji to make the EndSARS protest visible on the microblogging site.
Mohammed further accused him of retweeting the tweets of some foreign and local supporters of EndSARS, adding “If you ask people to donate money via bitcoins for EndSARS protesters then you are vicariously liable for whatever is the outcome of the protest.
“We have forgotten that EndSARS led to loss of lives, including 37 policemen, six soldiers, 57 civilians while property worth billions of naira were destroyed.
“164 police vehicles and 134 police stations were razed to the ground, 265 private corporate organisation were looted while 243 public property were looted.
“81 warehouses were looted while over 200 brand new buses bought by Lagos State Government were burnt to ashes,’’ he said.
The EndSARS protest against police brutality in October last year began peacefully across the nation but was later hijacked by hoodlums who turned it to violence by killing and torching police stations and many public buildings.
