The Presidency of Nigeria called for the prosecution of a social media critic for spreading a fake audio clip of the President.

His lawyers confirmed the audio wasn't on any of his platforms.

The Presidency apparently didn't check before making the call.

No correction was issued. No apology. No statement saying they looked again and the link to this individual was wrong. Just the original threat, followed by the lawyers' denial, followed by silence from the people who issued the threat.

Here is what I've been sitting with since Wednesday.

There is a process in Nigeria for verifying claims before acting on them. Journalists do it. Lawyers do it. Courts are supposed to do it. But when it comes to social media, the government has shown repeatedly that the process runs in reverse. Threaten first. Let the accused prove innocence later. The burden lands on the wrong person.

This week made that visible again. But I want to ask the harder question.

If the Presidency can call for your prosecution without first checking the facts, face no cost when they got it wrong, and move on without correcting the record. What does that tell you about who is expected to verify things in this country? The government has the resources. The government has the platforms. The government has the legal infrastructure. And the government couldn't be bothered to check before going public.

If you get something wrong on social media in Nigeria, the law is waiting for you. If the government gets it wrong about you, the law is apparently not the relevant frame.

That asymmetry is not an accident. It's a design. And the 2027 election is eighteen months away.