The BBC investigates a network of Nigerian separatists outside the country urging violence online.
A network of Nigerian separatists based outside the country is using social media to call for violence and incite ethnic hatred against opponents of Biafran independence, a BBC investigation has found.In a Facebook live broadcast to her more than 40,000 followers, Efe Uwanogho, also known as Omote Biafra, shouts hate speech directly into the camera.
Ms Uwanogho is among them. She's a so-called "media warrior" for the separatist group known as the Indigenous People of Biafra . "Social media has been Ipob's most successful tool in achieving most of what it wants to achieve today," he says.Some supporters of the group have as many as 100,000 followers on social media.
One of the ways the media warriors attempt to avoid censorship is to switch into local languages that are less well moderated. "We've also seen this in India, in Ethiopia, where crises are happening, people are using local language because they know that if they use English they will be flagged and will be removed from the platform."
Our investigation also found Ipob supporters spreading disinformation to stoke tension between different ethnic groups in Nigeria. Journalist Nicholas Ibekwe is among those who are critical of social media companies to tackle the violent threats being made on their platforms.
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