Hate Speech Bill: We’ll Amend Death Penalty, Says Sponsor Senator Abdullahi

The senator behind the hate speech  bill presently being considered by the Nigerian Senate, Sabi Abdullahi, has said the death penalty prescribed in the bill for would-be offenders will be amended. 

Abdullahi, who is the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, said the move was in view of the negative feedback that the proposed bill had generated from members of the public. 

In a statement he issued on Sunday, the senator said the bill “will be amended to respect Nigerians’ wishes”.

Abdullahi’s statement is coming is against the backdrop of the backlash that trailed the bill after it passed second reading at the Senate last week.

THE WHISTLER reports that Nigerians have been using the #SayNoToHateSpeechBill and #SayNoToSocialMediaBill hashtags to reject both the hate speech and social media  bills presently being considered by the Senate. 

Abduklahi, who claimed  that hate speech had led to several deaths and is a major factor behind depression and suicide in Nigeria, however said, “the death penalty proposed for anyone found culpable of hate speech that leads to the death of another, will be amended by the Senate when the bill is subjected to legislative input by the National Assembly.”

He said, “the bill will undergo some fine-tuning to ensure that the clauses contained in its provisions to be passed into law reflect the views of Nigerians.

“The Senate welcomes contributions and inputs by critics and supporters of the bill, as these would go a long way towards giving Nigerians the much awaited law to address the disturbing trend of hate speech.

Abdullahi said: “We have followed closely arguments for and against the hate speech bill, and seen the reason why some kicked against it.

“Given the high respect which we have for Nigerians, we will make amendment to the death penalty aspect that most Nigerians objected to, so that a bill that meets their expectations is passed into law.

“Clearly from the conversations, Nigerians agree that we have a problem in the society today as a result of hate speech which has fueled so many killings and violence, and is responsible for cases of depression and suicides.”

Citing a World Health Organization report, Abdullahi disclosed that Nigeria which is the seventh-largest country in the world “has Africa’s highest rate of depression and ranks fifth in the world frequency of suicide.”

The lawmaker explained that the Independent National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speech to be established will guard against every act of discrimination against Nigerians by way of victimization.

The Commission, according to Abdullahi, will have an executive chairperson, a secretary and twelve commissioners appointed through rigorous process involving the National Council of State, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Assembly.

In order to protect the independence of the commission, he stated that the bill provides that those qualified to be appointed as members of the commission must not be: members of the National Assembly or any government in authority at the Local, State or Federal Levels.

The lawmaker added that any person, who is a member of any political party or known to be affiliated with partisan politics, or has promoted sectional, ethnic, religious causes or openly advocated partisan ethnic positions or interest, stands disqualified from being appointed to serve on the commission.

“The overall concern is to curb violence and unnecessary loss of lives and livelihoods of Nigerians due to hate-induced violence,” he said.