So our Senators want to throw social media activists into jail?

The bill, which passed second reading at the floor of the upper chamber of National assembly, prescribes stiff punishment for social media activists/critics who use various internet platforms to oppose some government policies and sometimes expose shady deals by the government and or its functionaries.This is not the first time government of Nigeria is making […]

The bill, which passed second reading at the floor of the upper chamber of National assembly, prescribes stiff punishment for social media activists/critics who use various internet platforms to oppose some government policies and sometimes expose shady deals by the government and or its functionaries.
This is not the first time government of Nigeria is making effort to shut social media activism up. It was reported some months back that Nigerian government has entered into a contract agreement with an Israeli firm to monitor all internet communication of Nigerians.
In my opinion, passing this bill into law is a clear violation of freedom of speech which is guaranteed by the basic human rights, which is also one of the basic principles of fundamental human rights.
This is not the kind of law we expect from our distinguished Senators; we expect them to come up with laws to curb corruption, alleviate poverty, create jobs for the rising number of unemployed youth and so on and so forth. We also expect them to make adequate budgetary provisions through its committee on appropriation to cater for the basic needs of Nigerians.
Therefore, the House of Representatives should not support this draconian law, because it is undemocratic and contravening law, which if passed into law will denied Nigerians freedom to express their mind regarding how they are being governed. I also call on all Social media activists to write and speak against this unpopular law.

Mustapha Mammada, IKCOE Dutsin-Ma. <[email protected]>;