The latest online frenzy christened “Adeyemigate” is yet another reminder that in today’s Nigeria, social media has become the preferred venue for instant convictions, where evidence is optional, emotions are supreme, and reputations are destroyed at the speed of a trending hashtag.
The disturbing phenomenon should worry every patriotic Nigerian.
It is becoming increasingly fashionable for politically motivated actors, content creators and digital propagandists to substitute facts with speculation, elevate allegations to convictions, and expect the public to abandon reason in favour of orchestrated outrage. Unfortunately, this culture is steadily eroding the very foundation of our democratic values.
The latest target is the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
Predictably, the social media merchants have convened their familiar courtroom. Without a charge being proved, without evidence being tested, and without competent authorities completing their work, they have already written the judgment and pronounced the sentence.
That is not justice. That is digital lynching.
One does not have to agree with every government policy or every public official to appreciate a simple democratic principle: every Nigerian is entitled to fair hearing, due process and the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise.
Those who now seek to convict Gbajabiamila through carefully curated narratives should remember that social media is not recognised anywhere in our Constitution as a court of competent jurisdiction.
Hashtags are not evidence. Trending topics are not judgments. Influencers are not judges. Anonymous accounts are certainly not prosecutors.
If allegations have been made, let the appropriate security and investigative agencies do their work professionally and without interference. Let evidence speak louder than emotions. Let institutions, not internet mobs, determine the facts.
The growing appetite for trial by social media represents one of the greatest dangers confronting our democracy. It encourages selective outrage, rewards misinformation and empowers those who understand that a lie repeated often enough online can temporarily masquerade as truth.
We have seen this script repeatedly. An allegation surfaces. Political opponents amplify it. Content creators monetise it.
Influencers sensationalise it. The public is invited to convict first and ask questions later.
Months afterwards, when facts emerge or investigations tell a different story, the damage to reputations has already been done. The accusers simply move on to the next target, never apologising for the falsehoods they helped to spread.
That is neither activism nor accountability. It is digital irresponsibility. Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has spent decades in public service, serving as Minority Leader, Majority Leader, Speaker of the House of Representatives and now Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Such a long public career naturally attracts scrutiny, criticism and even controversy. However, scrutiny must never be weaponised into persecution, nor criticism transformed into a substitute for justice.
No public officer should be insulated from investigation where credible allegations exist. Equally, no public officer should be condemned merely because allegations are fashionable or politically convenient.
Justice cannot be determined by the volume of online engagement. Democracy cannot survive if every trending topic becomes a judicial verdict.
This is bigger than Gbajabiamila. Tomorrow, another public official could be the victim.
The day after, it could be an opposition leader. Ultimately, it could be an ordinary citizen with no platform to defend themselves.
If we legitimise trial by social media today, we destroy the safeguards that protect every Nigerian tomorrow.
Our democracy is sustained not by digital mobs but by strong institutions. The Constitution remains superior to trending hashtags. The rule of law must always prevail over the rule of algorithms.
Those genuinely interested in truth should resist the temptation to inflame passions or manufacture conclusions before investigations are concluded. They should allow the relevant institutions to establish the facts without intimidation or undue influence.
The court of public opinion may be loud, but it is not infallible. The court established by law remains the only forum where evidence-not emotion-determines guilt or innocence.
Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila deserves no special treatment. He simply deserves what every Nigerian deserves: fairness, due process and justice.
That is the hallmark of any democracy worthy of the name.
Seye Oladejo is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and former spokesperson for the party in Lagos State.