Amnesty Int’l, CSOs, NCC reject social media bill at Senate public hearing

The controversial anti-social media bill sponsored by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa was on Monday rejected by stakeholders during the public hearing put together by the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Legal Matters.

The Civil Society Organisations (CSO), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), student groups, the media, Amnesty International and Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) took part in the public hearing.

They argued that the bill was a proliferation of existing laws and asked the upper legislative chamber to thrash it so as not to cause confusion.

Among government agencies that opposed the bill was the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON).

The BON Chairman, Saad Ibrahim, insisted that the bill which passed through the second reading at the Senate on November 20, 2019, was a duplication of existing laws.

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The bill, according to Ibrahim, must be redefined for it to work.

“That the bill appears to be undefined and that some parts should be deleted if it must be passed. There are provisions in the proposed bill that are unnecessary,” he said.

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