Some bills introduced at the senate in 2019 got Nigerians talking. Many questioned the rationale for introducing these bills at a time the country needs legislation to confront its teething problems. The introduction of some of these bills raised the speculation that the senate was willing to do the bidding of President Muhammadu Buhari at any cost -- even to the [...]
Tag "hate speech"
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Senate President Ahmad Lawan has asked Nigerians to mobilise against the proposed hate speech bill if they do not want it. Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, the senate president said it is up to Nigerians to decide, at the public hearing, if the bill should be passed or not. In November, Sabi Abdullahi senator representing Niger north, sponsored [...]
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has asked the senate to discard the social media bill and find an alternative means to curb fake news. In a statement on Tuesday, Idayat Hassan, CDD director, said the bill is a provocative legislation aimed at stifling the freedom of expression. In November, a week after the senate introduced a bill to regulate social [...]
Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) says the national assembly's fascination with regulating the social media is disturbing. In a statement on Monday, Idongesit Ikanga, PANDEF's national chairman, said the national assembly must exercise caution in its handling of the social media and hate speech bills. A week after the senate introduced a bill to regulate social media, the senate reintroduced another bill [...]
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has asked the national assembly to discard the social media and hate speech bills. The association asked the legislature to devote its time to solving issues on poverty, insecurity, bad roads and poor education. Samson Ayokunle, CAN president, made the call in a statement by Samuel Kwamkur, the national director, legal and public affairs of the [...]
Stakeholders in the media, academia and civil society groups have described the proposed bill on the prohibition of hate speech as a step towards impunity. At a meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, different speakers said the motive behind the bill is to gag the media and repress the voices of the citizens. The event, which was organised by the Africa Foundation for [...]
The disapproval of the social media and hate speech bills by a lot of Nigerians is quite understandable. The ignominy with which the Buhari administration has repeatedly made a mockery of the rule of law has made it almost impossible to trust him. But that is really as far as it goes. If you have any other excuse for being [...]
Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto state governor and vice-chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, says the national assembly should respect the views of Nigerians on the proposed legislation. On November 12, Musa Sani, senator representing Niger east, introduced the bill ,which prescribes death by hanging for any person found guilty of any form of hate speech that results in the death of another person. Speaking on [...]
In recent years, some of my friends have relocated to Europe or North America along with their family members. When another longstanding friend hinted he would be migrating to America soon, I tried to discourage him as I did other friends. “You’re making a mistake,” I told Udinny, a university teacher, as we chatted on WhatsApp recently. “We die here, failed [...]
Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate, says the national assembly is attempting to silence the voice of criticism with the introduction of the bill on hate speech. A week after the senate introduced a bill to regulate social media, the senate reintroduced another bill seeking to establish a commission for the prohibition hate speech in the country. The bill prescribed death by hanging for [...]
When people are in power, for either four (4) or eight (8) years, it would look like they are going to be in power for eternity. Either four (4) or eight (8) years is not a long time. Before you say jack, you are already out of your current office, becoming an “ordinary” citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. [...]
Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the federal government will not allow hate speech become free speech. Mohammed was speaking on the plan of the government to regulate social media. On Tuesday, the minister said many Nigerians have asked the government to sanitise the social media space. Speaking at the annual lecture of FRCN in Abuja on Thursday, he said only [...]
Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) lacks the power to suspend licences of media organisation without an order from the court. In a statement on Sunday, the senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the regulator cannot also ban radio houses from playing records of artists or impose fines on alleged offenders without recourse to the court. On [...]
Festus Keyamo, spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari reelection campaign, says the United States has displayed its double standard for the world to see. Keyamo said this in reaction to a statement credited to Stuart Symington, US ambassador to Nigeria. Symington had warned public officials not to obey illegal directives issued in the name of the president, saying any politician whose utterances incite [...]
EXTRA: ‘I consider it hate speech’ — Shehu Sani wants el-Rufai’s wife to stop talking about his hair
Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna central, has asked Nasir el-Rufai, governor of the state, to caution his wife over her comments on his hair. In a Facebook post on Saturday, the senator said Hadiza el-Rufai, the governor’s wife, always talks about his hair whenever she is out campaigning. Hadiza, who is a published author, has been actively involved in the re-election campaign [...]
Shehu Sani, lawmaker representing Kaduna central senatorial district, says some people in government are raising concerns about hate speech while they pay some media users to attack and defame others. In a Twitter post on Saturday, the senator, who did not mention names, said those people in government preach against hate speech and incitement yet keep an army of social media [...]
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