Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi on Sunday said that his controversial Hate Speech Bill, which proposed “death by hanging” for offenders would be reworked to suit the wishes of Nigerians before passage.
The Bill titled: “National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speeches (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2019” scaled first reading in the Senate on November 12, 2019.
The Bill proposed that, “A person who uses, publishes, presents, produces, plays, provides, distributes and/or directs the performance of any material, written and/or visual, which is threatening, abusive or insulting or involves the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour” committed an offence.
It added that the charge would be justified if such a person intends to stir up “ethnic hatred”.
“Any person who commits an offence under this section shall be liable to life imprisonment and where the act causes any loss of life, the person shall be punished with death by hanging,” the Bill added.
It could be recalled that despite a barrage of attacks against the Bill by Nigerians, Senator Abdullahi, who represents Niger North had insisted that he would soon lead the debate for the second reading of the Bill at plenary.
However, Abdullahi in a statement made available to Senate Correspondents in Abuja on Sunday, said the Bill would now undergo some fine-tuning to ensure that the clauses contained in its provisions to be passed into law reflect the views of Nigerians.
He added that the Senate welcomed contributions and inputs by critics and supporters of the Bill, as these would go a long way towards giving Nigerians the much awaited law to address the disturbing trend of hate speech.
Hate speech, according to him, has led to the death of many and is a major factor behind depression and suicide in Nigeria.
