Nigerian Senator Vows To Find Instagram Blogger Over Alleged Defamatory Statement

The lawmaker representing Lagos West Senatorial District, Solomon Adeola, has reacted to an allegation levelled against him by an Instagram blogger identified as gistloversblog11.

The Chairman of Senate Committee on Finance in a statement released on Friday threatened to find gistlover whom he accused of tarnishing his image, reputation.

The Instagram blogger had accused the lawmaker of purchasing a house for one Jumoke Odetola with constituency fund.

Adeola in a statement released through Kayode Odunaro, said, “The frivolous and unsubstantiated allegations on “constituency fund” and on one “Jumoke Odetola” would have been completely ignored for the simple reason of the cowardly practice of coming from a nameless and faceless entity notorious for fixation on slandering for some ulterior motives.

“However, this is the second time in a row that the same account is engaging in the vexatious and false narration suggesting a paid agenda to destroy a hard-earned reputation and good family life that must be executed at all cost using one of the handles of ‘gistloversblogs’.

“It is for the above reason of a paid commission and the regrettable and condemnable fact of some online media writing and publishing stories with assertive headlines from a nameless and faceless source that Senator Adeola decided to put the record straight for his numerous fans, political supporters and the general public.

“Otherwise, it is unwise in engaging a cowardly, nameless and faceless destructive and negative entity purportedly practising what is eulogized as “citizen journalism” on social media.

“For the records, the allegations contained in the issue under reference are totally false as there is no way Senator Adeola will use “constituency fund” that does not come to him directly but tied to projects executed by government agencies to purchase a house without an address for one “Jumoke Odetola” or indeed for anybody for that matter. The senator, as a good family man that loves his wife and children dearly, also denies in strong terms any association in any form with a person named “Jumoke Odetola” or any other such persons as recurrently now being alleged by only ‘gistloversblog’ in a patently destructive agenda.

“Going forward, Senator Adeola notes that hitherto he had been a foremost defender of the positive aspects of the use of social media in the modern world and had stood against any legislative agenda at the federal parliament to regulate the use of social media adding that following the activities of ‘gistloverblog’ and similar entities, he is now committed to pursuing a legislative agenda at the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to regulate the use of social media for destructive ends as being used by entities like ‘gistloversblog’.

“On different occasions on the floor of the Senate, I had stood against the legislative agenda of regulating the use of social media for its positive benefits. But following recent developments I am now making it one of my legislative agenda in the current session of the Senate to pursue an agenda for regulation of the use of social media against such abusive, faceless and nameless users like ‘gistloversblog’. The argument of resorting to legal means to get justice by some people against any form of social media regulation does not stand any longer when you are dealing with “social media ghosts” like ‘gistloversblogs’ that collaterally damage the noble profession of journalism with their unprofessional conduct masquerading as some form of journalism.”