A groundswell of opposition is
building up against the death penalty proposal for hate speech.
The bill, which is sponsored by
Deputy Chief Whip Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (Niger North), passed the first
reading in the Senate yesterday.
Titled: “National Commission for
the Prohibition of Hate Speeches (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2019”, the bill
also proposes the setting up of a Commission on hate speech.
Last week, the Senate introduced
a bill to regulate the social media to punish what it termed “abuse of social
media” with a three-year jail term or N150,000 option of fine or both.
Minister of Information and
Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that the Federal Government is poised to
regulate the social media.
The Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) caucus in the Senate has vowed to oppose any proposed legislation that
would unduly infringe on the rights of Nigerians.
Minority Leader Enyinnaya Abaribe
said this while reacting to concerns on the Social Media Bill raised by members
of the Leadership and Accountability Initiative, who visited him at the
National Assembly.
Abaribe said the PDP senators
would oppose the bill if it threatened the fundamental rights of Nigerians
guaranteed in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Abaribe noted that there were
already laws that dealt with issues the proposed law seeks to regulate.
He urged Nigerians to ensure
mutual respect while freely expressing their views.
Abaribe said: “There is no speed
with which this Bill is being passed. The first reading of a Bill is automatic.
We can’t make a comment on what is still on the first stage.
“What I can assure you is that
this Senate can’t be a party to removing the rights of Nigerians under any
guise. Section 39 of the Constitution talks about our freedom as citizens. The
9th Senate will not abridge your rights.
“I don’t think Nigerians who
fought and paid the supreme price to entrench this democracy will easily give
it away and make us go back to the dark days.
“Rest assured that when we get to
that point, we will stand for the people. Every Bill that passes here must pass
through the rigours to ensure that it protects the rights of over 200 million
Nigerians.
“We have a plethora of laws that
can be used to drive the question of driving a free society. While social media
can be good, it can also be bad. I am a victim of social media.
“As much as there is freedom,
yours stops where another person’s own starts. We urge Nigerians not to
propagate falsehood or fake news. Our job is to guarantee the freedoms and
rights of both sides.”
Leader of the group, Nwaruruahu
Shield, insisted that since there were already existing laws dealing with
Defamation, it is superfluous to introduce a fresh anti-social media Bill.
Former Vice President Atiku
Abubakar described the introduction of the Anti-Hate Speech Bill by the Senate
as abuse of legislative process and called on the federal lawmakers to “stop
the folly”.
In a statement by his media
adviser, Mr Paul Ibe, the former Vice President said the bill sought to violate
the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech of Nigerians.
“It is prudent to build upon the
tolerance inherited from those years and not shrink the democratic space to
satisfy personal and group interests.
“Freedom of Speech was not just
bestowed to Nigerians by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
1999 (as amended), it is also a divine right given to all men by their Creator.
“History is littered with the
very negative unintended consequences that result when this God given right is
obstructed by those who seek to intimidate the people rather than accommodate
them.
“We should be reminded that
history does not repeat itself. Rather, men repeat history. And often, to
disastrous consequences”, Atiku said.
He added: “We are now the world
headquarters for extreme poverty as well as the global epicentre of
out-of-school children. Our economy is smaller than it was in 2015, while our
population is one of the world’s fastest growing.
“We have retrogressed in the
Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, from the position we
held four years ago, and our Human Development Indexes are abysmally low.
“It therefore begs the question:
should we not rather make laws to tackle these pressing domestic challenges,
instead of this Bill, which many citizens consider obnoxious?”.
Senator Abdullahi sponsored the
same Hate Speech Bill during the Eight Senate but it attracted widespread
condemnation from Nigerians. It never returned for second reading before the
eighth Senate elapsed
The Bill proposes that the
establishment of a Commission to enforce hate speech laws across the country,
and ensure the “elimination” of hate speech.
For offences such as harassment
on grounds of ethnicity or race, the Bill had proposed that the offender shall
be sentenced to “not less than a five-year jail term or a fine of not less than
N10 million or both.”
The Bill proposes that, “A person who uses, publishes,
presents, produces, plays, provides, distributes and/or directs the performance
of any material, written and/or visual, which is threatening, abusive or
insulting or involves the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or
behaviour” committed an offence.
It added that the charge would be
justified if such a person intends to stir up “ethnic hatred”.
The Bill makes provision that any
offender found guilty under the Act when passed would die by hanging.
“Any person who commits an
offence under this section shall be liable to life imprisonment and where the
act causes any loss of life, the person shall be punished with death by
hanging,” the Bill said.
The Bill provides that “A person
who uses, publishes, presents, produces, plays, provided, distributes and/or
directs the performance of any material, written and or visual which is
threatening, abusive or insulting or involves the use of threatening, abusive
or insulting words or behavior commits an offence if such person intends
thereby to stir up ethnic hatred, or having regard to all the circumstances,
ethnic hatred is likely to be stirred up against any person or person from such
an ethnic group in Nigeria.
“Any person who commits an
offence under this section shall be liable to life imprisonment and where the
act causes any loss of life, the person shall be punished with death by
hanging.
“In this section, ethnic hatred
means hatred against a group if person’s from any ethical group indigenous
today Nigeria.
On discrimination against
persons, the Bill also provides that: “For the purpose of this act, a person
who discriminates against another person if on ethnic grounds the person
without any lawful justification treats another Nigerian citizen less
favourably than he treats or would treat other person from his ethnic or
another ethnic group and/or that on grounds of ethnicity a person put another
person at a particular disadvantage when compared with other persons from other
nationality of Nigeria.
“A person also discriminates
against another person if, in any circumstances relevant for the purposes
referred to in subsection (1) (b), he applies to that person of any provision,
criterion or practice which he applies or would apply equally to persons not of
the same race, ethnic or national origins as that other.”
On harassment on the basis of
ethnicity, the Bill further provides that “A person (who) subjects another to
harassment on the basis of ethnicity for the purposes of this section where on
ethnic grounds, he justifiably engages in a conduct which has the purpose or
effect of: a) Violating that other person’s dignity or b) Creating an
intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for the
person subjected to the harassment.
“Conduct shall be regarded as
having the effect specified in subsection (1) (a) or (b) of this section if,
having regard to all circumstances, including in particular the perception of
that other person, it should resonably be considered as saying that effect.
“A person who subjects another to
harassment on the basis of ethnicity commits an offence and shall be liable on
conviction to an imprisonment for a term not less than ten years, or to a fine
of not less than ten million naira, or to both.”
The objectives and functions of
the proposed commission on Hate Speech, according to the Bill includes to
facilitate and promote a harmonious peaceful co-existence within the people of
all ethnic groups indigenous to Nigeria and more importantly to achieve this objective
by ensuring the elimination of all forms of hate speeches in Nigeria, and to
advise the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on all aspects
thereof.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com