Again, Sani hits Nigerian government hard for ‘stifling freedom of expression and driving fear into citizens’

A former lawmaker –turned social critic, Shehu Sani, on Friday reacted angrily to the Federal Government’s recent attempts to trample on the rights of the citizens.

Writing on his verified Twitter handle, @ShehuSani, the fiery senator condemned the government’s latest move to regulate the nation’s social media space, saying it is tilting towards autocracy.

He wrote: “What happened when a democratic government plots to transform into an autocratic government?

“A democracy never transforms into an autocracy without giving the people a sinister reason or an excuse on why their rights and freedoms need to be taken away.

“The ultimate aim of any law against freedom of expression is to achieve silence and quiet for power to reign without question and for people to live in fear of the consequences of any of their act to challenge authority.”

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Sani had earlier in the week condemned the government’s move to regulate social media, saying the efforts to regulate social media are not primarily about checkmating fake news, hate speeches or defamation but majorly about stifling freedom of speech and expression and the right to question power and hold it to account.”

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