Nigerians Protest Hate Speech Bill At National Assembly

Civil rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, on Wednesday, led other protesters to the National Assembly over the contentious Hate Speech and Social Media Bills being considered by the Senate as well as the continued detention of Omoyele Sowore, the convener of the #RevolutionNow movement.

The protesters picketed the National Assembly Complex while carrying different placards and banners with inscriptions such as “#Say No To Social Media Bill” “Hypocrites Get Offended by the Truth” and “Hate Speech Bill is Dead on Arrival”.

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The protesters are also asking the National Assembly to prevail over the Department of State Services (DSS) to release Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare who have remained in detention despite separate orders by the Federal High Court for their release.

Speaking to reporters, Adeyanju said the proposed hate speech and social media bills were duplication of law as Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act 2015 had addressed the issues raised in the bills.

Several civil rights groups and prominent Nigerians have kicked against the social media and hate speech bills since their introduction at the Senate.

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The bills have been described as a move to gag the media and prevent Nigerian citizens from holding public office holders accountable.

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