Not many Nigerians will pick bones with Senator Sabi Abdullahi for sponsoring a private bill aimed at 'prohibiting hate speeches and other related matters'. Many discerning Nigerians have been alarmed at the crippling enthronement and insidious effects of hate speech on our body politics, since the acrimonious electioneering campaigns of 2007 presidential and National Assembly elections.
Apart from hate speech, the bill also seeks to clamp down on ethnic discrimination, ethnic harassment, discrimination by way of victimisation, and ethnic hatred, either committed as individuals or groups. While these insolent offences have sentences and fines upon conviction as 12 months and N2m and up to five years in prison or/and N10m fine; the special case of hate speech is given sledgehammer glove.
We commend the sense of purpose and urgent desire to curb the nightmare and dangerous repercussions hate speeches and similar pernicious activities, mostly vented through the social media, can wreak on the fabrics of a delicately balanced structure like Nigeria.
The ridiculous disregard for human life that makes lawmakers feel comfortable to suggest death sentence or life imprisonment for admittedly highly inflammatory offences where mechanism for competent and transparent investigation, adjudication and prosecution has been very weak, is really troubling. We can generally admit that our law enforcement and judicial arbitration, even of common crimes and infractions, have not been seen or felt to be above reproach or beyond doubt.
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