The times are becoming interesting for Nigerian netizens and users of social media.
Three incidents of the past one week have laid credence to the fact that social media space is not a garbage bin where people can just throw in their trash and go unchecked.
Last week, Mercy Chinwo and the husband, Pastor Blessed took matters in their hands and sued four social media users who believe wrongly that anything goes and nothing will happen.
The four stretched their luck by making spurious allegations about the physical features of the baby boy of the couple, alleging that the baby rather takes a striking resemblance with some other person than the parents.
After the couple sued, the third party mentioned as the one the baby took after also felt slighted and is seeking redress.
This week, a Federal Capital Territory high court in Abuja dropped a bomb.
It was the matter of defamation brought by Apostle Johnson Suleiman, a church owner and preacher against Nollywood actress, Halima Abubakar.
The court held that a publication or publications by Ms. Abubakar against Suleiman were defaming, unfounded, injurious and caused a damage to his image.
The court’s judgment is that Suleiman is entitled to N10m as damages and redress.
What the entire drama signify is that there are rules about what every social media user publishes or pushes out to the public.
Yes, rules apply in social media use just as they do in the traditional media. They are plethora of laws to check excesses
To professional journalists, these developments are worth celebrating.
It’s the indirect way to regulate or prune out the chaffs and unworthy in the social media arena.
Instead of making laws to checkmate media or press freedom in the bid to regulate social media usage, the enforcement of existing laws against offenders of social media consumers is a swift way to call users to order when they know that it’s not a joke to say that every user is grossly liable for any excesses arising from offensive and injurious contents they put out on social media against other people.
