Protesters Tuesday stormed the National Assembly complex in Abuja and demanded the withdrawal of the controversial Frivolous Petitions Prohibition Bill.
The protesters, made up of a coalition of civil societies, maintained that the Bill criminalises free speech.
According to them, it is a contravention of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Section 39(1) of the country’s 1999 Constitution (as amended).
In a letter to chairman of the National Assembly and Senate president, Bukola Saraki, the civil societies warned that if the Senate continued with the legislative processes on the controversial Bill, they would pressurise the international community to impose travel bans on all Nigerian legislators.
The protest letter, signed by Aisha Yesufu and five others, on behalf of the group, Concerned Nigerians, read: “After years of military dictatorship, Nigeria is finally coming into its own as a vibrant democracy; it is, therefore, unacceptable and unconscionable for us to return to the league of pariah nations by enacting laws, which stifle the fundamental hallmark of any free people: their right to self expression.”
Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe and Shehu Sani, who addressed the protesters and received the letter on behalf of Saraki, promised to communicate issues raised by the protesters to relevant committees.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had on Monday distanced himself from the Bill, saying he would not assent to any bill that contradicted the 1999 Constitution.
The controversial bill sponsored by Bala Ibn Na’Allah, passed second reading last week at the Senate. It seeks two years imprisonment with an option of N2 million fine for Nigerians who post “abusive statements” on the social media.
