9TH SENATE WON’T PASS HATE SPEECH BILL – SENATE PRESIDENT

Senate President Ahmed Lawan.

Following the public outcry that greeted the hate speech bill, the Senate President Ahmed Lawan has said the Senate won’t pass the proposed anti-free speech bills.

Lawan made the disclosure in response to a detailed written protest letter against the hate speech bill and anti-social media bill before the senate by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA.

He said legislators will listen to the pulse of Nigerians who have rejected the bills and will do exactly as they demanded.

HURIWA had argued that, freedom of expression was one of the fundamental rights provided in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). By virtue of the same and other international instruments, it is the freedom to hold opinions, receive ideas and information and impart ideas and information without interference. Social media is used in reference to the means of expression other than the mainstream media.

The group therefore urged the National Assembly to stop forthwith any attempt to legislate laws that offend the Rights to Freedom of Speech the Rights group reminded the National Assembly that Freedom of Expression in Nigeria is grounded constitutionally in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The Rights group further argued strongly against limitations to access to social media and also rejected the hate speech bill as follows: “To require more than the existing laws have provided would portray the government in bad light and peach it against the people and any such further regulation will only take Nigeria centuries back in civilization with attendant consequences of gross and flagrant abuse like in the colonial era or the immediate after which had such over-regulation like the laws on sedition by which a lot of persons were frequently charged and convicted for what ordinarily would be fair comment by citizens of democratic society. A lot of these cases are high profile cases with potential to cause political tension, affect the peace and stability of the entire country which the proponents of the of social media regulation claim to want to prevent. This would further deepen the already entrenched distrust between the people and the government. This way, the government loses its right and benefit of feedback from the people.”

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