Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The Human Rights, Liberty Access, and Peace Defenders Foundation (HURIDE) has accused members of National Assembly (Senate) of being agents of autocracy in Nigeria by reviving a controversial Hate Speech bill which had passed second reading at the Senate.
The bill, meant to regulate social media in Nigeria, contains a contentious provision prescribing the death sentence or life imprisonment for individuals found guilty of Hate Speech, which the bill criminalises.
HURIDE has condemned the bill in its entirety and its resuscitation by what it characterises as agents of the Presidency in the National Assembly, giving the body a 21-day ultimatum to terminate the bill, suspend its sponsors and tender an unreserved apology to Nigerians.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees of HURIDE, Dede Uzor, in a statement said that the reactivation of the bill was a clear indication that members of the National Assembly are despots disguised as democrats.
“But if they fail, he said, they would not hesitate to call out their members to, in collaboration with other rights groups and progressive forces, protest until they are forced to see reason why the bill must be given a death knell,” the statement reads.
“The recent reintroduction of the Hate Speech bill shows that the National Assembly hate Nigerians. They don’t respect the sanctity of our constitution they swore to defend, especially the section that dwells on freedom of expression of the citizens.
“We want them to discontinue with this bill and throw it into the dustbin of history. This bill cannot stand. It should be thrown into the dustbin of history like its forebears, Deceree Four, which was promulgated by Muhammadu Buhari as former a Military President in 1983.
“He did that in 1983 when he introduced Deceree Four, which he used to imprison citizens without trial. The National Assemblly should apologise to Nigerians for coming up with this obnoxious, stone age and anti-people bill.
“The bill is dead on arrival . It is revival of draconian Decree Four of 1983. It is very shameful that our legislators allowed Buhari’s dictatorial tendecy to loom large in a democratic environment,” Uzor stated.
Uzor wondered why derogatory remarks would end in a death sentence, while those who bled the economy of the country get mild sentences.
He challenged members of the National Assembly to make laws that will benefit Nigerians, create employment opportunities for unemployed youths and beam their searchlight on a full implementation of the federal budget.
The activist put the National Assemblly on notice, accusing the President of wanting to truncate Nigeria’s democracy and usher in full despotism; going on to caution lawmakers that should democracy fail, the legislature would be its first victim as it would be suspended accordingly.