A Lawsuit has been filed against President Muhammadu Buhari alongside The Senate over the proposed Anti-Hate speech bill.
Tope Akinyode, who is a lawyer is filing a lawsuit before the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The lawsuit is aimed at putting a stop to the enactment of the bill which was introduced on the floor of the Nigerian Senate on November 5, 2019 and targeted towards regulating the use of social media in Nigeria.
The People listed in the lawsuit are the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Federal Republic of Nigeria; President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and the Senate President.
The Lawsuit was filed based on section 39(1) of the constitution gives Nigerians the “right to freely express themselves, hold opinions and receive and impart ideas and information without any let and hindrance.”
Tope said, “In Nigeria’s democracy, the 2nd respondent under the watch of the 3rd respondent is notorious for arbitrarily disregard for court orders and the rule of law, therefore, the bill seeking to regulate the social media is not reasonably justifiable under Nigeria’s democracy, as there is a grave danger that citizens’ voices will be silenced if the bill is allowed; just as there is no end in sight to the continuous disregard for the rule of law.”
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According to Tope if the bill was passed, it would affect the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.