Nigeria church attack video restored to Instagram by Meta's Oversight Board

Meta's Oversight Board on Wednesday overturned a decision to remove a video that was shared on Instagram showing the gruesome aftermath of an attack on a church in Nigeria that killed at least 40 people.

The video showing motionless, bloodied bodies on the floor, apparently the aftermath of the church attack that took place on June 5 in Owo, southwest Nigeria, was shared by an Instagram user on the same day.

Meta removed the video, saying hashtags added by the user could be read as glorifying violence and minimizing suffering. The user appealed against the removal to the independent board.

The board on Wednesday asked Meta to restore the post with a "disturbing content" warning screen, saying this would protect victims' privacy while allowing for discussion of events.

"Nigeria is experiencing an ongoing series of terrorist attacks and the Nigerian government has suppressed coverage of some of them, though it does not appear to have done so in relation to the June 5 attack," the board said.

"The Board agrees that in such contexts freedom of expression is particularly important."

Nigerian authorities have accused insurgents from the Islamic State in West Africa group of carrying out the attack on St Francis Catholic Church, which took place during Pentecost Sunday mass. Five suspects were arrested in August.

The Nigerian government has been exploring ways to regulate social media use in the country, Africa's most populous. Millions of Nigerians are active users of YouTube, Twitter , Facebook (META.O) and TikTok.

The West African country has asked Google to block the use of YouTube channels and livestreams by banned groups and terrorist organizations in the country. 

By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters

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Student in Nigeria Arrested After Calling President's Wife Fat on Twitter

Human rights groups have called for the release of a student who has been arrested for allegedly insulting Nigeria’s first lady, Aisha Buhari, in a tweet.

Aminu Adamu Muhammed was arrested on the 8th of November after reportedly tweeting in June that Buhari had gotten “fatter by eating the masses’ money.” The 23-year-old was picked up on the campus of the Federal University Dutse in the northern state of Jigawa. It is not clear what specific charges, if any, Aminu is being held under.

“Amnesty International strongly condemns the arrest of #Aminu,” Amnesty International tweeted. “His family and friends alleged that he was held incommunicado and subjected to severe beating, torture and other forms of ill-treatment. Since his arrest neither his family nor his lawyers have had access to him.”

“The Buhari administration must immediately and unconditionally release Aminu Muhammad,” SERAP, a nonprofit legal advocacy group said. “We'll see in court if he's not immediately released.

Aisha Buhari – who regularly faces criticism for appearing to live in Dubai despite her position as first lady – rarely makes public appearances but has been known to occasionally openly criticise members of her husband’s administration.

Aminu’s arrest comes just days after two TikTok creators in Nigeria were sentenced to be flogged for mocking a prominent politician. Mubarak Muhammad and Nazifi Muhammad published a skit criticising Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of the northern state of Kano.

The pair were also ordered to pay a fine of ​​10,000 naira (around £17, $23) and clean the court premises for 30 days. 

Vice, by Dipo Faloyin

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TikTokers sentenced to lashing in Nigeria for mocking official

Two TikTok stars in Nigeria have been sentenced to a whipping and forced to clean the court after they used social media to mock a government official.

Mubarak Isa Muhammed and Muhammed Bula were found guilty of defaming Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of the northern state of Kano.

The pair's lawyer said they would not challenge the judgement.

Nigeria has seen a growing number of social media stars who use comedy to comment on social and political issues.

Mubarak Isa Muhammad and Muhammad Bala were arrested last week after posting their video - in which they mocked the governor for alleged land grabbing, corruption and sleeping on the job - to TikTok and Facebook.

Prosecution lawyer Wada Ahmed Wada said the men had defamed the governor and that their action was capable of disturbing public peace.

They pleaded guilty and asked for leniency, but the judge ordered them to be given 20 lashes each, to pay a fine of 10,000 naira (£20) and to clean the court premises for 30 days. They were also ordered to publicly apologise to Mr Ganduje on social media.

Their lawyer, Bashir Yusuf, told the BBC they would not challenge the judgement, given it was a ''non-custodial'' sentence - meaning those convicted would not be jailed.

Nigeria has seen a rapid increase in TikTok users in recent years, particularly among young people.

These users sometimes mock public figures, including government officials, by clipping images or videos, often to create comedies that attract massive followers to their accounts.

Kano State, a Muslim-majority part of northern Nigeria, is among about a dozen states in the region that practise the Sharia legal system alongside the country's secular laws. Only Muslims can be tried in Sharia courts.

BBC, By Ishaq Khalid

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