Afe Babalola Speaks On What Hate Speech Bill Will Do To Nigeria

Afe Babalola Condemns Hate Speech Bill

Chief Afe Babalola has declared that Nigeria does not need the hate speech law currently been considered by the country’s Senate.

According to the legal luminary, the bill is capable of sliding Nigeria into a full-blown dictatorship.

He added that the country already had enough laws to deal with false information and publications, hence the hate speech bill is largely unneeded.

Naija News recalls the bill which has already scaled first reading at the Senate, is been sponsored by Deputy Chief Whip, Aliyu Abdullahi.

Following the rage and outcry which greeted the bill, the sponsor has declared readiness to remove the part of the bill which recommends the death penalty for anyone found guilty of spreading a falsehood that led to the death of another person.

Chief Babalola who has now added his voice to condemn the bill, made his position known in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday when the leadership of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ekiti chapter, led by its Chairman, Com Rotimi Ojomoyela presented an award of excellence to him to appreciate his contributions to humanity and national development.

The legal icon noted that the provisions of the proposed bill contravenes section 39 of the 1999 constitutions, which guarantee freedom of speech.

“This is the beginning of dictatorship. There are enough laws like defamation, libel, and slander to deal with anybody who publishes falsehood against someone and it comes by way of taking the person to court.

“So, it is of no need to making new laws to deal with somebody who publishes falsehood. There was no need whatsoever for additional laws to deal with that.

“Though, people are complaining, because the police are not doing well by delaying prosecution of offenders,” Babalola said.

Adding his voice to the state of the judiciary in Nigeria, Babalola said it is difficult for the judiciary to be independent and fair in an environment where they are being intimidated.

“The Department of State Services did Irreparable damage to courts the very day houses of judges were ransacked at night, because no judge will give judgement against a government when he has the impression that his house will be searched at night”, he stated.