DEATH SENTENCE FOR HATE SPEECH BILL – HATEFUL APPROACH

A new Senate bill has been proposed, sponsored by the senate spokesperson Sabi Abdullahi. The bill prescribed death sentence by hanging for any person found guilty of any form of hate speech that results in the death of another person and has received the first reading at the Senate.  

Ideal Olive gathered from localreports that the bill seeks the establishment of an independent national commission for hate speeches. Our sources revealed that the proposed commission would enforce hate speech laws across the country, and ensure the elimination of hate speeches. In the case of offences such as harassment on grounds of ethnicity or race, the offender shall be sentenced to not less than 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 behavior, commits an offence.

According to Abdullahi, the cases of religious and ethnic violence experienced in the past years in Nigeria informed his decision to sponsor the bill. Moreover, he said that the bill proposes various mechanisms to prevent cases of death which emanate from hate speeches.  

Ideal Olive wish to say that the bill is needful, but this is not the right time to propose such a bill. The bill against hate speech is not the problem for now. The National Assembly should start proposing bills that will deal with the corrupt practices in the governance, they should propose bills that will ensure healthy voting system, they should propose bills that will ensure that national and state leaders live up to their responsibilities.

Why won’t people use hate speeches in a country besieged by crooks as leaders? Hate speeches even help to increase the life span of some people because that is how best they can vent their anger and frustrations. Even the present administration is guilty of hate speech against the past administration; so what is the basis for the bill? President Buhari was guilty of hate speech when he threatened that both the "baboon and the dog will be soaked in blood during his campaign. Before we talk about anti hate speech bill, this administration should first apologize for being the promoters of hate speech. This administration should first address its leadership of sectionalism which is hateful in its entirety before passing anti hate speech bill.

The bill will only be relevant when the citizens start enjoying the dividends of democracy. When there is minimal corruption, when there are good and accessible roads, adequate supply of clean water, constant power supply, quality education, etc.; only then can the passing of bill against hate speech be justified and ripe for implementation.

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi

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