3 years after rejection, social media bill returns to Senate

Social media offenders face a three years imprisonment or fine of N150,000, or both as a penalty if the bill gets lawmakers’ considerations and the presidential assent.

The bill makes a return to the lawmaker’s chamber three years after it suffered public rejection and was withdrawn due to its wide unacceptability to Nigerians who considered the bill as seeking to undermine free speech.

The bill, as presented, also targets media houses with a huge fine of N10 million for what it describes as “peddling falsehood or misleading the public.”

The Bill has already passed first reading on the floor of the red chamber of the National Assembly.

The bill entitled, ‘Protection from internet falsehood and manipulations bill, 2019’ was sponsored by Mohammed Sani Musa, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Niger State.

The earlier bill sought to silence social media activism by demanding that critics on the social media platform must accompany their petitions with sworn affidavits or risk six months imprisonment upon conviction.

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The earlier bill, sponsored by Kebbi Central district senator, Bala Na’Allah, reads in part: “Any person who unlawfully uses, publishes or cause to be published, any petition, complaint not supported by a duly sworn affidavit, shall be deemed to have committed an offence and upon conviction, shall be liable to an imprisonment for six months without an option of fine.”

It continued: “Any person who acts, uses, or causes to be used any petition or complaints not accompanied by a duly sworn affidavit shall be deemed to have committed an offence and upon conviction, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of two years or a fine of N200,000.00 or both.”

The Niger East district senator and new sponsor of the bill, Senator Musa, who is the chairman Senate Committee, on Senate Services said: “Nigeria needs, the legislation because it would protect its fragile unity.”

Advancing his defence of the bill that violates free speech, he said: “With this legislation, some journalists will look at it as if we are trying to bring legislation that will gag the social media or right to a free press. It is a legislation that will guide how we can tolerate our activities on social media.

“False information has been disseminated so many times and they have caused so many chaoses in different parts of the World. See what happened in Rwanda, the xenophobic attacks. You can pass information as long as you are passing it to the reading public, facts and not creating them.”