Senate Will Abide By Public Opinions On Hate Speech, Social Media Bills – Lawmakers

As controversy continues to trail the social media and hate speech bills, senators in the 9th Senate on Wednesday assured that the upper legislative chamber will not pass bills that are not people oriented.

Senators Uba Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) and Yakubu Oseni (APC, Kogi Central) spoke on behalf of the Senate while addressing protesters at the National Assembly.

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Sani said that the leadership of the National Assembly is open to dialogue, while calling on Nigerians to attend the public hearing on the bills, in order to air their views on them. Although no date has been fixed for the public hearing. 

“The law is not about the 109 senators. It is about Nigerians. Democracy is about free speech, it is about rule of law. That is why their voices are extremely important. That is why we believe that your agitation is valid and also in the best interest of our own county. We are going to certainly work with you on the day of the public hearing.

“I have no doubt in my mind, if Nigerians don’t want these bills, even though they are being sponsored by our colleagues, certainly it won’t escape the public hearing. I can assure you we are going to do whatever is in the best interest of our own country. Whatever Nigerians want is what the 9th Senate would do.

“We are aware of section 24 of the Cybercrime Act and some of us are on the same page with these agitations. We are not guided by any political affiliation. We are guided by the law and concerned about the progress of our own country,” Sani assured.

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On his part, Chairman Senate Committee on Cybercrime, Senator Yakubu Oseni also affirmed that no bill would be passed without a public hearing, saying laws made by the legislature are for Nigerians and not the Senate.

He, however, debunked the growing concerns among Nigerians that the 9th Senate was an appendage of the Executive.

Recall that last week, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan had said that whatever President Muhammadu Buhari tables before the legislators is believed to be in the interest of the country and would be passed.

Oseni said: “It is not true. If the Senate President said something, we should always check what he said before he said that. I can quote him verbatim.

“He said he knows that ‘Mr president meant well for Nigerians and that whatever he brings and we know that would better the lots of Nigerians, we will not hesitate to pass it through.’ We’re all here to protect the interests of Nigerians.”

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Earlier today, THE WHISTLER had reported that dozens of protesters stormed the National Assembly gate to ask the Upper Chamber to drop the bills the social media and hate speech bills before it.

Two groups, Take It Back Movement and Concerned Nigerians, championed the protest.

Asides the primary demand of the Senate stepping down the social media and the hate speech bills, the protesters also asked the federal government to obey court orders by releasing Omoyele Sowore and other journalists who are held for critiquing state authorities.

They carried placards which among other inscriptions read: “If you can’t stand the smoke. Get out of the kitchen”, “Only a repressive regime muscles the media”, “#SayNoToSocialMediaBill, we are not in tyranny century”, “If we can’t say what we think, in a democratic society, then it is not democracy”, “Do not gag me”, “Free Sowore”.

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