Hate Speech Bill: Placing Capital Punishment On Hate Speech Will Encourage Tyranny - Shehu Sani

Posted by Thandiubani on Fri 09th Mar, 2018 - tori.ng

A vocal Nigerian senator has attacked sponsors of Hate Speech bill saying if it is passed into law, it will be used to fight political opponents.

Senator Shehu Sani

Senator Shehu Sani has criticized the proposed Hate speech bill sponsored by Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi of Niger State saying the bill if passed into law will encourage tyranny and terror.

He said if the bill is passed into law, "our condemned cells in the prisons will be filled with bloggers, critics and perceived political opponents."

He took to Facebook to voice his opposition to the bill writing: “Most people in Power are intolerant to criticism and allergic to dissent to be trusted with a capital punishment for Hate speech. The law against Hate speech will be used against free speech.

Many critics and social media enthusiasts will end up in the gallows. Our condemned cells in the prisons will be filled with bloggers, critics and perceived political opponents.

We must fight Hate speech, Hate speech is a real threat to peace, unity and order of a nation but we must protect free speech.

Free speech is the shield of the oppressed. When you have state police and you have capital punishment for Hate speech, you will have tyranny and terror as a state policy. People in power should think twice about what they do with power as someday they will be out of power.

A democratic state must balance its security exigencies with its constitutional obligations and moral duty to uphold the rule of law and respect fundamental rights of its citizens. If you are in public office and you don’t want to be criticized or challenged, please dismount and go back to your family where you can be an imperial emperor.”