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| Senator Sabi Abdullahi |
The Buhari led federal Nigerian government, disposed to regulating social media, said such regulation is necessary in the interest of “our national peace and unity.”
Senator Sabi Abdullahi who is the sponsor of the National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speech bill has said Hate speech is the root cause of violence across the country.
The bill is currently on the floor of the National Assembly.
Speaking Tuesday on Channels television Sunrise Daily, Abdullahi said that all the violence recorded in the country is preceded by hate speech and the bill when passed into law, will address the dangers hate speech poses for the country.
The Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project (SERA) which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, legal & advocacy organisation in a quik response said the root cause of violence in Nigeria is the grand corruption by the political and public officers who are blindly stealing the common wealth of the land thereby subjecting the citizens into a dehumanising and provoking conditions.
Read: NIGERIA: ANALYSING THE PROPOSED HATE SPEECH BILL BY DR CHARLES OMOLE
SERAP said over $600bn of public funds have been stolen by politicians since independence in 1960 with devastating consequences.
Many critics have said the bill is designed to clamp down on freedom of speech.
“We have sufficient cause to believe that this Bill contains elements that may affect the right to free expression of internet users in Nigeria and we intend to follow up on it as it goes through the legislative process and is officially gazetted,” Paradigm Initiative Nigeria said in a statement.
Death penalty is prescribed for “hate speech" or imprisonment with up to FIVE years .
The "Hate Speech" and the "Social Media Bill" may have an easy passage since the country’s National Assembly is controlled by the party at the centre – the All Progressives Congress.
Read: NIGERIA: ANALYSING THE PROPOSED HATE SPEECH BILL BY DR CHARLES OMOLE
SERAP said over $600bn of public funds have been stolen by politicians since independence in 1960 with devastating consequences.
Many critics have said the bill is designed to clamp down on freedom of speech.
“We have sufficient cause to believe that this Bill contains elements that may affect the right to free expression of internet users in Nigeria and we intend to follow up on it as it goes through the legislative process and is officially gazetted,” Paradigm Initiative Nigeria said in a statement.
Death penalty is prescribed for “hate speech" or imprisonment with up to FIVE years .
The "Hate Speech" and the "Social Media Bill" may have an easy passage since the country’s National Assembly is controlled by the party at the centre – the All Progressives Congress.
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