South Africa defeats media lies of embassy bombing

The South African Acting High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Bobby Moroe, on Saturday confirmed there was no damage or bombing of any of the country’s mission property in Nigeria.

Moroe said in Abuja that both South African missions located in Abuja and Lagos were intact.

The confirmation is sequel to reports being circulated on social media of a bomb explosion at the High Commission in Abuja.

Moroe said: ”Both South African missions in Nigeria remain intact; all our staff members are safe and no reports of intimidation have been brought to our attention.

“The careless use of social media is a ploy to create tension and panic among our peoples of South Africa and Nigeria.

“We condemn in strongest terms such acts of deception, as they seek to destroy the very essence of our relations with Nigeria and further fuel tension and confusion within society.

“We encourage social media users to be responsible, sensitive and always verify the authenticity of sensitive information before it can be circulated.

Earlier, the Federal Government of Nigeria had debunked reports being circulated on social media of a bomb explosion at the South African High Commission.

In a statement, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the report “is fake news orchestrated by desperate opposition to cause panic and chaos among the populace”.

Mohammed observed the video of the purported bomb explosion was that of a bomb explosion at Emab Plaza, near Banex, Abuja, which occurred on June 25, 2014.

“A pattern is emerging of the antics of the desperate opposition to latch on to the use of fake news and disinformation as a strategy to trigger chaos in the country,” he said.