A group of protesters yesterday, went to the National Assembly to
demand the withdrawal of the bills on hate speech and social media.
A civil activist, Deji Adeyanju, who led the protesters to the
National Assembly gate described the bills as โobnoxiousโ.
The protesters carried placards bearing various inscriptions aimed at
rejecting the bills.
According to Adeyanju, the bills are completely out of place having no
place in a democratic regime.
โThese bills have no place in our laws and nation because the
Cybercrime Act of 2015 has already aptly captured the provisions of
these bills in its entirety.
โWe want to draw the attention of the National Assembly to the
provision of Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act of 2015.
โThat section of the act has expressly captured all the provisions
that the social media and hate speech bill ought to cover,โ he said.
Receiving the protesters, Sen. Uba Sani (APC-Kaduna Central), said
that the contribution of all segmments of the society would be taken
into consideration during public hearings on the bills.
The controversial bill on hate speech had on Nov. 12, passed first
reading in the upper chamber.
The bill sponsored by the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Sen. Sabi
Abdullahi, while the Bill for an Act to Make Provisions for the
Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation had passed second
reading in the Senate sponsored by Sen. Sani Musa (APC-Niger East).
