In today’s Nigeria, talk is no longer cheap. Those who open their mouth wide enough to verbalise opinions that offend the status quo should be prepared to walk the path to Stalin’s Gulag in Buhari’s Nigeria.
However, even without both bills, Nigeria already has existing laws that are used to curb free speech. This is the submission of one of Nigeria’s legal luminary, Afe Babalola, in his recent reaction to the introduction of the bill to prohibit hate speech. Section 1 of the law provided that “Any person who publishes in any form, whether written or otherwise, any message, rumour, report or statement […] which is false in any material particular or which brings or is calculated to bring the Federal Military Government or the Government of a state or public officer to ridicule or disrepute, shall be guilty of an offense under this Decree.”The modus oparandi is almost predictable.
She was dismissed a week later on argument that her comments was in breach of the civil service rules 030407, which defines “false claims against government officials.” Mr Japhet, on August 9 took to his Facebook page and wrote: “This is Nigeria, with a president who want to fight corruption and tackle insecurities, with the vice who claimed to be a man of God without truth, with many elected senators, with IGP that we think things will change, its a pity for them, those that lead this country.
His writings immediately became his undoing as soon as he was announced as the spokesman for the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan. “I told them that I criticised former President Goodluck Jonathan more than I criticise President Buhari. I told them that I will not be biased and keep quiet when things are going wrong. My criticism is now more pronounced because there is so much suffering and President Muhammadu Buhari is a northerner. It will be unfair of me to have criticised Jonathan, a Christian and spared President Buhari, because he is a Muslim.
He had called on Nigerians to use their voter’s cards to ensure the Buhari government was not re-elected. He had referred to the President as a “wicked” leader who should not be allowed to continue in office given his tacit support for the killings across the country.
Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)
Una beautiful Rwanda
MBuhari Stop deceiving yourself do Nigerians have a single Human Rights Answer NO! Which freedom of speech are you talking about when you already moving us from democracy.
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