Naira Marley: I said retweet if you don’t believe in coronavirus and they want to kill me

Naira Marley, Nigerian singer, has stirred up a public furore on social media over his comments about the novel coronavirus.

Ever since the COVID-19 broke out in Nigeria, there has been panic among citizens, even as the country’s authorities placed restrictions on social gatherings to prevent further spread.

Marley, who’s a renowned street singer, took to his Twitter page to drop a post, asking fans to retweet if they’re among those who don’t believe in COVID-19.

His tweet, which has been liked nearly 7,000 times — as of the time this report was filed — didn’t go down well with a number of netizens.

Retweet if u don’t believe in CoronaVirus

— nairamarley (@officialnairam1) March 23, 2020

While some disapproved of his tweet, describing it as wrongly timed, a few others defended the controversial crooner, charging that he never suggested that coronavirus is a sham.

NairaMarley please
This is not the right time🙏

— H.A.I.S.H.A.H🧜‍♀️🍭 (@EWAWUNMIII) March 23, 2020

After he started “trending” on the microblogging platform, Marley took to Instagram live to make a video where he clarified his stance on coronavirus.

He urged people to leave him to his convictions on the killer virus.

“If I don’t believe in what you believe in, then I don’t believe it! I said retweet if you don’t believe in coronavirus and they want to kill me. Are you stupid or you’re dumb?,” Marley charged in the clip.

"If I don't believe in what you believe in, then I don't believe it! I said retweet if you don't believe in coronavirus and you want to kill me. Are you stupid or you're dumb?"

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— Naira Marley pic.twitter.com/Gw77jqFY7p

— Stephen Kenechukwu (@Kayceewrights) March 23, 2020

Naira Marley, whose real name is Azeez Fashola, has made the news on several occasions for controversial reasons. He became popular after he was arrested on cybercrime allegations back in 2019.