Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, who is sponsoring the hate speech bill in the Upper Chamber, has said the death penalty proposed for anyone found culpable of hate speech will be amended.
Abdullahi who stated this in a press statement on Sunday said the amendment would be effected by the Senate when the bill is subjected to legislative input by the National Assembly, in the interest of Nigerians.
Abdullahi had a week ago, alleged that he received treats from certain quarters to drop the bill especially on his proposal that those who peddle hate speech should die by hanging.
It was established that due to obvious pressure, the Senator has bowed hence his u-turn on the proposed death penalty.
Since the bill was introduced in the Senate for first reading, Nigerians have objected to the proposed death penalty and called for its quick amendment.
They opined that the bill was ill-conceived because, according to them, terrorists, public fund looters, armed robbers among other offenders who ought to be given stiffer penalties were never punished in such a manner.
But Senator Abdullahi has stated that the bill would undergo some fine-tuning to ensure that the clauses contained in its provisions to be passed into law reflect the views of Nigerians.
Noting that the Senate welcomed contributions and inputs by critics and supporters of the bill, he said such inputs would go a long way towards giving Nigerians the much-awaited law to address the disturbing trend of hate speech.
Hate speech, the lawmaker explained, had led to the death of many and that it is a major factor behind depression and suicide in Nigeria.
“We have followed closely arguments for and against the hate speech bill, and seen the reason why some kicked against it.
“Given the high respect which we have for Nigerians, we will make amendments to the death penalty aspect that most Nigerians objected to, so that a bill that meets their expectations is passed into law.
“Clearly from the conversations, Nigerians agree that we have a problem in the society today as a result of hate speech which has fueled so many killings and violence, and is responsible for cases of depression and suicides,” Abdullahi stated.
Citing a World Health Organization report, Abdullahi disclosed that Nigeria which is the seventh-largest country in the world “has Africa’s highest rate of depression and ranks fifth in the world frequency of suicide.”
He further explained that the Independent National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speech to be established will guard against every act of discrimination against Nigerians by way of victimization.
The Commission, according to Abdullahi, will have an executive chairperson, a secretary and twelve commissioners appointed through rigorous process involving the National Council of State, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Assembly.
In order to protect the independence of the commission, he stated that the bill provides that those qualified to be appointed as members of the commission must not be members of the National Assembly or any government in authority at the Local, State or Federal Levels.
The lawmaker added that any person who is a member of any political party or known to be affiliated with partisan politics, or has promoted sectional, ethnic, religious causes or openly advocated partisan ethnic positions or interest, stands disqualified from being appointed to serve on the commission.
“The overall concern is to curb violence and unnecessary loss of lives and livelihoods of Nigerians due to hate-induced violence,” Abdullahi insisted.
