Kaduna Supports Social Media Regulation Amid Security Concerns

After a new peacebuilding report highlighted digital platforms and competing narratives as major contributors to insecurity in Northern Nigeria, the Kaduna State Government has pledged stronger regulation of social media to curb misinformation, fight fake news, and prevent conflict escalation.

Commissioner for Information and Culture Malam Ahmed Maiyaki made the announcement on Tuesday during the presentation of the Delimi Prosper Project findings at the Gusau Institute in Kaduna. The project was carried out under the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRING) initiative with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The one‑day event gathered government officials, civil society organisations, development partners and other stakeholders to review the eight‑month intervention’s findings and recommendations.

Maiyaki said, “The report underscored the importance of evidence‑based peacebuilding. Sustainable peace can only be achieved through informed interventions rather than assumptions.” He added that government policies and conflict responses must be guided by credible data and research that identify the root causes of insecurity and pathways to lasting peace.

He noted, “We are quite glad with the report that we have seen, which is evidence‑based because addressing conflict and building peace requires evidence and not assumptions.” The commissioner stressed that peace cannot be entrenched, institutionalised or built without evidence of what has been done.

Maiyaki expressed concern over the growing role of social media in spreading misinformation and disinformation, warning that digital platforms are increasingly exploited to fuel tensions and deepen divisions within communities. While recognising social media as an important tool for information dissemination and citizen engagement, he said it should not serve as a vehicle for incitement, falsehood and conflict propagation.

“Our greatest concern remains one of the outcomes of the report, which has shown digital media as one of the enablers of escalation of conflict. My ministry is quite worried about this,” Maiyaki said. He added that even in advanced democracies such as the United States, social media platforms are regulated, and people cannot, in the name of freedom, abuse these platforms to instigate conflict or misinform the public.

The commissioner said the state government will continue to provide timely and accurate information to citizens while intensifying efforts to counter fake news and disinformation capable of triggering unrest. He explained that existing laws prohibit the amplification of fake news and that the government will not sit idle while conflict merchants use these platforms to misinform the public or incite people against one another.

Speaking on the project’s findings, Richard Ali, Executive Director of Engaging Borders Strategy, Research and Development, said young people remain central to the dynamics of conflict across Northern Nigeria and must therefore be placed at the heart of peacebuilding interventions.

Ali explained that the project, which ran from August 2025 to March 2026 across parts of the North‑West and North‑Central regions, produced nine key recommendations, including stronger collaboration among governments, development partners and civil society groups. He noted that the digital space has become a major arena for conflict narratives and warned that sustainable peace would require coordinated efforts to address both online and offline drivers of violence.

“The key finding is that young people are at the centre of these conflicts that we see in Northern Nigeria. If we are going to address these conflicts effectively, then we must do so with young people at the centre,” Ali said, adding that collective action remains the most effective path to breaking recurring cycles of conflict and insecurity.