Lagospedia, the X account that described itself as “proclaiming the virtues of Lagos” but was popular for inciting hate against Igbos in Nigeria’s southwest, might now be extinct, but that surely cannot — or should not — be the end of the story.

After spending the better part of the past nine years promoting tribal bigotry and division, the page and its handler abruptly vanished, leaving behind rife speculation of links to persons in the Lagos State government.

An FIJ’s report, outcry on Twitter (many have credited @chiditweets042 as being the most vociferous) and a petition by Sam Amadi, a former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), prefaced the page’s digital footprint erasure. Despite these, the government’s response to the situation has left much to be desired.

While several anti-Igbo rhetorics littered the now-defunct page, the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was a July 27 post calling for a xenophobic protest against the tribe from August 20 to 30. The handler specifically promoted #IgboMustGo, asking for the Igbo’s ejection from the southwest in clear violation of Nigerians’ constitutional right to live anywhere in their country.

In an August 1 reactionary statement, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State governor, described the comments as “reckless and divisive”. Still, instead of calling for volunteers with information to bring the person(s) behind the page to book, the governor urged Lagosians “to ignore the post and any post of that nature”.

This statement has generated mixed reactions; while many laud the state government’s public position on the page, others perceive the move as hasty and disloyal to the handler.

READ MORE: The Demise of @Lagospedia. Igbo-Hating X Handle Finally Deactivated

This conflict of opinions has made it questionable what the government and security agencies would do following the page’s deactivation.

FOLLOWED BY THE SAME GOVERNMENT

Sanwo-Olu’s controversial statement appeared to distance the government from the page, but the man who wrote that statement, Gboyega Akosile, did not seem intent on getting far enough.

Akosile is the governor’s special adviser on media and publicity. After issuing that statement, FIJ found he was following the page before and after its publication.

Jubril Gawat, Sanwo-Olu’s senior special assistant on new media; Wale Ajetunmobi, senior special assistant on media; and Alabi Opeyemi Oladimeji, senior special assistant on youth mobilisation to Sanwo-Olu, were all following the handle too. More than that, Akosile and Ajetunmobi engaged with the handle on numerous occasions.

These facts raise questions about how diligently the state would probe the page’s activities, but beyond that, it heightens suspicions that the handler is known to the governor’s advisers.

Having followed the account and engaged with its contents, did Akosile and Ajetunmobi really need a public outcry before they could recognise the danger in Lagospedia’s social media activities?

Did the police or other security agencies not see the danger in the publications, and did they not think it necessary to issue statements?

HOW SECURITY AGENCIES REACTED TO PREVIOUS ‘THREATS’

READ MORE: OBSERVED: Sanwo-Olu Distanced Himself From Igbo-Hating ‘Lagospedia’, But His Appointees Were Following the Handle

Ahead of the August 1-10 #EndBadGovernance protest, the Department of State Services (DSS) issued a statement saying they had identified the sponsors of the protest and would prefer if the action did not hold as there was potential for violence.

This statement came on July 25, barely 48 hours before Lagospedia’s call for an #IgboMustGo protest.

The DSS was not alone as the police and military also issued statements discouraging the protest.

None of these agencies has yet recognised or issued a statement following Lagospedia’s tweets. The DSS, famed for finding people the ruling class is looking for, is yet to find the handler Sanwo-Olu claims to want to probe.

Meanwhile, Lagospedia’s post violates Section 41, Subsection 1 of the Nigerian Constitution, which states: Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom.

DSS, POLICE AND THE RULING CLASS’ ENEMIES

Joe Chinakwe, Aminu Adamu, Emmanuel Akuma and Anthony Okolie have one thing in common; they have each been arrested by the DSS at some point because someone in the presidency did not like what they did.

Joe’s crime was naming his dog ‘Buhari’ after former president Muhammadu Buhari. The police arrested him in August 2016, and put him through a rigorous legal battle that lasted one year. The prosecution failed to prove he breached public peace.

Six years later, the police arrested Aminu over a tweet claiming Aisha Buhari, the then president’s wife, was feeding fat on money meant for the poor.

On April 2, 2020, the DSS arrested Emmanuel over a tweet in which he claimed he would “pay a Russian sniper to eliminate Buhari and Kyari,” referring to the then president and Abba Kyari, the president’s former chief of staff.

The DSS arrested Anthony in 2018 for legally purchasing a SIM card which previously belonged to Hanan Buhari, the daughter of the former president.

If there is one thing the security agencies have communicated over the years, it is that they can identify and apprehend anyone they consider a threat if the right persons are interested in the capture.

Whether or not the governor is as interested in exposing and apprehending this handler who took his hate speech offline after the backlash, remains a mystery. Well, not exactly. He already asked the public to ignore @Lagospedia. On that evidence, we can fully expect @Lagospedia to go scot-free.