A Constitutional Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Chief Sebastine Hon, SAN who kicked against the bill noted that hate speech in advanced criminal jurisdictions has been used effectively to check anti- government speeches and to launch a reign of terror on opposition or dissenting voices. Citing the provisions of the Penal and Criminal Codes of other countries, the Senior Lawyer described the proposed bill as extremely harsh and high-handed. While calling on Nigerians to reject the bill, Hon urged members of the green chambers to exercise caution stressing that the proposed bill is excessive and should not be tolerated. He called on members of the 8th Assembly to take a look at the Penal and Criminal Codes of other countries saying, “In Germany, the Strafgestzbuch (Germany’s Criminal Code) stipulates a maximum prison term of 5 years for offenders, while in Iceland, the maximum sentence is 2 years. “In Netherlands, the Dutch Criminal Code, in section 137c and 137d stipulates a jail term of not more than one year, while in Canada, the punishments, depending on the category, range from 6 months to 2 years and then 5 years. In Bosnia, the maximum sentence is five years – as confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights in the recent case of Smajic vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (2018) ECHR (Application No. 48657/16). “In England and Wales, the Public Order Act, 1986, as amended severally by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, the Racial and Religious Hatred Act of 2006 and the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act of 2008, has stipulated a punishment not exceeding 7 years. He added that the bill if allowed in Nigeria will present a worst picture given the nature and manner politics are usually played out in everything in Nigeria. “hence apart from the punishment for hate speech being excessive, I am hereby advocating suspension of the Bill or refusal by the President to assent to it. Power is transient, hence anything which could compromise freedom of speech and other forms of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms must be vigorously avoided and or resisted. “I, therefore, call for either suspension of this Bill or a reconsideration of the punishments named therein for offenders to a maximum of 5 years’ imprisonment” he added. Also, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has cautioned the Senate against approving the controversial Hate Speech bill. The NUJ in a statement by its National Secretary, Shuaibu Leman, said while the union shared the concerns being expressed by the sponsor of the bill, it was pertinent to caution against prescribing capital punishment for hate speech, principally because it could be used indiscriminately against perceived political opponents by unscrupulous members of the political elite. “It is instructive to note that citizens are entitled to free speech even if they hold offensive and hurtful opinions. We also cannot forget that people have the right to be biased, even offensive in their speech even if journalism is different and we have to be aware of this. “It is therefore our considered opinion that it is pertinent to avoid such pitfalls in our bid to come up with legislation to curtail the excesses of citizens,” Mr. Leman said. It could be recalled that the bill which has passed second reading on the floor of the Red Chanbers prescribes a penalty of death sentence for those who make hateful speech that results in death of other citizens. The bill, sponsored by the Senate spokesperson, Sabi Abdullahi (Niger-APC), seeks the establishment of an Independent National Commission for Hate Speeches. The proposed commission would enforce hate speech laws across the country, and ensure the “elimination” of hate speech, the bill says. For offences such as harassment on grounds of ethnicity or race, the offender shall be sentenced to “not less than a five-year jail term or a fine of not less than N10 million or both.” The bill proposes that, “A person who uses, publishes, presents, produces, plays, provides, distributes and/or directs the performance of any material, written and/or visual, which is threatening, abusive or insulting or involves the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour” commits an offence.]]>
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