Help end the confusion, define hate speech, Sani tells rights commission

Following the controversies that have continued to trail the issue of hate speech over its actual definition, Senator Shehu Sani has asked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to help clearly define what constituted hate speech.

According to him, the National Assembly and NHRC should try and evolve a template to define what amounted to hate speech.

Sani stated this when he paid a visit to the Acting Executive Secretary of NHRC, Mrs Oti Ovrawah, on Tuesday in Abuja.

He argued that Nigerians will have their rights infringed upon should the definition of hate speech be left to the interpretation of security agencies.

He said, “If we refuse to do that, we will give security agencies a blank cheque to operate.

“We must collectively fight the evil of hate speech but in the process, we must be careful not to trample on free speech. As we all stand against the evil of hate speech, we must preserve and protect the values and spirit of free speech.”

The senator further warned against allowing military and other security agencies to clamp down on alleged hate speech peddlers.

“As a human rights activist who has fought for the restoration of democracy in the country, I know the danger of giving security agencies the blank cheque to go after social media enthusiasts.

“It is of concern today that the military has formally announced that it will be monitoring what is happening on social media.

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“The military as well as the Police have no business monitoring social media or arresting people for posting things on social media.

“One of the biggest threats to fundamental human rights today is intolerance from the people in position of power; they have failed to embrace, accept and tolerate right to freedom of speech.

“We have seen in many states where bloggers were arrested for posting their views and opinions on social media.

“We have also seen cases where government at all levels are finding it difficult to come to a realisation that we are in a democracy and that people have the right to express themselves”, he said.

Sani is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts.

 

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