Following the public protests and talks about the proposed “Bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and other Matters Connected Therewith, 2015 (SB.143),” attention of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has been drawn to the impending issues and therefore urges the National Assembly to cease and desist from considering or passing laws seeking to abridge constitutionally guaranteed free speech.
In a statement signed by Nduka Obaigbena, NPAN president, the society noted that such bill, if passed, would not only be unconstitutional, but would also undermine our system of democracy and the rights we all fought for.
It further read: “We cannot because of a few irritations on the social media seek to clamp down on the rights of citizens to freely hold and share opinion on any platform. We believe any untruths should be confronted by facts not laws, and indeed the Freedom of Information Act should be enhanced to promote more openness in governance.”
The new bill focuses on social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Whatsapp, online blogs and the like. The use of which is growing exponentially across the country with the number of Nigerian Facebook users, currently standing at over 7million.
Other associations like the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and individuals are in agreement with the NPAN.
In a statement made public Monday, the OPA said: “We align with the Nigerian public in describing this action by the Nigerian Senate as pure idleness, and an abandonment of the electoral mandate to focus on laws for good governance to deliver increased welfare for the people. The Senate is seeking instead to restrict the scope of human freedoms, growth of new platforms of social interaction and public accountability.”
According to them, “the proposed bill reminds the general public of the infamous Decree 4 of 1984 passed under military rule; one that took away our freedoms. The continuous attempt at gagging members of the public was again re-enacted in 2011, when the Senate attempted to pass a bill by another APC Senator; for which ironically, the current members of the Senate stepped down after extensive public outcry. This appears therefore to be an ongoing project in the Nigerian Senate.”
Also in alignment with the views of the NPA and OPA, Bayo Banjo, former President of the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) told BusinessDay that the proposed bill is unnecessary as there were other laws in place for defamation and slander online and the new bill shows that the Senate is going round in circles revisiting issues that have already been dealt with instead of finding solutions to other pressing issues.
“I don’t see the need for this proposed bill. It tends to infringe on people’s rights, and moreover, we already have adequate laws on defamation, libel and slander. The problem is the execution of those laws,” he said.
“We will see the implications on our democracy in practice if this bill is passed into law. It is seriously infringing on free speech,” Banjo added.
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