The Senate has explained that the bill seeking prohibition of hate speech bill has nothing to do with the alleged third term agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Senate’s spokesman, Godiya Akwashiki, who made this known on Monday, November 18, said Peoples Democratic Party had alleged that the anti-hate speech bill was a collaboration between the Senate and Buhari to achieve a third term agenda.
According to him, “The anti-hate speech bill has nothing to do with any hidden agenda from the executive and the Senate will apply all its legislative mechanism on it in deciding its usefulness for Nigerians or not.”
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The sponsor of the bill, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, said he reintroduced the bill because hate speech was posing a threat to the country’s corporate existence.
“Many people have turned me into a monster, but I’m not moved,” he said, adding that to see the bill as a ploy to give Buhari a third term is laughable.
Earlier, The Herald reported that a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, disclosed President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration agenda on free press in Nigeria, saying the attack on media in the country is over a third term agenda being nursed by the government.
The human rights lawyer made this known in Lagos on Thursday, November 7, at the public presentation of a book, Testimony to Courage, essays in honour of Premium Times publisher, Dapo Olorunyomi.
He also accused Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Abuja Federal High Court of bias against his client, Omoyele Sowore, saying the online news publisher had been convicted without trial.