SERAP asks African Commission to prevail on Nigerian govt to stop regulation of social media

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to a halt the ongoing attempt to regulate the social media by the Nigerian government.

In a petition signed on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP wants the court to prevail on the Nigerian government and National Assembly not to push through two bills seeking to gag the media, and impose arbitrary and harsh punishment on journalists, broadcast stations, media houses, and media practitioners in Nigeria.

It read: “The push by the Nigerian government and the National Assembly to support and pass the two anti-media bills is unlawful, as passing the bills would be contrary to the country’s obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the right to freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom under articles 1 and 9 of the African Charter.”

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“These anti-media bills are the latest threats to freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom in the country. The bills are not in keeping with the provisions of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa, which supplements articles 1 and 9 of the African Charter.

“The bills include retrogressive provisions that threaten human rights, including freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom, and could criminalize reporting and give the government overly broad powers and oversight over journalists, broadcast stations, media houses, and media practitioners.

“If passed into laws, the bills would be used by those in power to intimidate and harass their critics, and to stifle freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom. The bills would have a chilling effect on the media thereby inducing some measure of self-censorship.

“Media freedom, which is an aspect of the right to freedom of expression, is now generally recognised as an indispensable element of democracy. The mass media promotes the free flow of information, which enables citizens to participate in a meaningful and informed manner in the democratic process.

“The actions by the Nigerian government and National Assembly are contrary to Articles 1 and 9 of the African Charter and have thereby violated Nigeria’s positive obligation under Article 1 to recognise the rights, duties, and freedoms and to adopt legislative or other measures to give effect to them.

“Nigerians, broadcast stations, media houses, and media practitioners in the country face a real and immediate risk of violation of their rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom if the anti-media bills are not urgently withdrawn.”

Mayowa Oladeji

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