SERAP Urges Buhari To Reverse N5m Hate Speech Fine, Says It’s Repressive
The Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), says President Muhammadu Buhari should ” immediately reverse the unconstitutional and illegal increase in hate speech fine from N500,000 to N5m.”
THE WHISTLER reported that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday, unveiled the new Reviewed Broadcasting Code, in Lagos, which stipulated that erring broadcast stations would now pay N5 million instead of N500, 000 for hate speech.
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In a tweet on Tuesday, SERAP vowed to sue the federal government and seek redress in the law court.
According to SERAP, the development was geared towards suppressing freedom of expression in the country.
“We’ll fight to challenge this illegality in court to make sure that the fine doesn’t become another tool for repression.
“This fine would further curtail freedom of expression and open the door for law enforcement officials to target critics,” it tweeted.
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SERAP maintained that it was not out of place for citizens to criticize government.
The tweet further reads:
“The fine fails to meet the standards of legality, necessity and proportionality in article 19(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“The Buhari government should be removing restrictions on freedom of expression, not imposing heavy fines that risk stifling critical public debate on important issues.
“The leadership of the National Assembly should publicly condemn this restriction on constitutional rights.”
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