Nigerians Call On NASS And FG To Protect Digital Freedom - KeepItOnNigeria

 

Nigerians on social media are demanding the protection of digital freedom and freedom of expression in Nigeria. For the past few days, the campaigners have trended their hashtags nonstop. 

The campaigners, using the hashtags #KeepItOnNigeria and #InternetNoBeEnemy, have been sharing posts for the past seven days on social media, especially on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, urging the National Assembly and Federal Government to embrace “democratic solutions” over punitive legislation.


The idea of “democratic solutions,” according to the non-governmental organisation leading the campaign, Centre for Liberty, originates from a document the organisation calls “democratic solutions to Fake News and Hate Speech.” According to the co-convener of Centre for Liberty, Raphael Adebayo, “the democratic solutions document is a comprehensive collection of how democratic countries across the world are dealing with Fake News and Hate Speech without resorting to punitive legislation as has been proposed by the Senate here in Nigeria.”


Recalling the public hearing that held in March 2020 on the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill, popularly known as the Social Media Bill, sponsored in 2019 by Senator Muhammed Sani Musa (Niger East Senatorial District), Adebayo said:


“Nigerians have overwhelmingly rejected the Social Media Bill; the right thing for the Senate to do is shut it down, along with the Hate Speech Bill.


“There are better ways to deal with Fake News and Hate Speech, and that is why our organisation, with the support of Voice Nigeria, has developed the democratic solutions document. We believe that Federal Lawmakers and the Federal Government can learn from and possibly adopt the democratic strategies of other democratic countries to combat fake news and hate speech in Nigeria. Nigeria is a multiethnic, multicultural country, and any attempt by the government to resolve socio-political issues must, as a matter of democratic necessity, reflect the popular will,” he concluded.


The Social Media Bill and Hate Speech Bill are two controversial Bills before the Nigerian Senate. The former, which seeks to regulate social media, proposes up to five years imprisonment for anyone found guilty of spreading fake news or criticising the government unfairly; and the latter proposes the death penalty for anyone found guilty of “Hate Speech.”