Social Media Bill: Senate begins public hearing
- The social media bill is said to be undergoing its first public hearing
- The hearing is being held on the floor of the Senate
- If signed into law, the bill is expected to curb excesses from media outfits and possibly eliminate fake news in the country
The upper chamber of the National Assembly on Monday, March 9, commenced public hearing for the social media bill.
Among those at the chamber for the hearing were Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, human rights activists, heads of media outfits, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), The Nation reports.
Others are Clement Nwankwo, the executive director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Chris Isiguzo, the national head of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Omoyele Sowore and Deji Adeyanju, the convener of Concerned Nigerians.
The bill was sponsored by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, representing Niger East senatorial district.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria's information minister, Lai Mohammed, had said he was not aware of the “Protection From Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill, 2019” bill sponsored by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa before the National Assembly.
The bill which was referred to as social media bill had passed the second reading on the floor of the Senate in November and may soon become law.
The bill which had been trailed by controversy seeks to regulate social media.
But Mohammed, during a video interview with DW’s Tim Sebastian, said such a bill does not exist. He asked his interviewer who is the author of the bill.
“Who is the author of that bill, I am not even aware of it. There’s no such bill before the house. I can say that categorically and authoritatively that there’s no such bill before the house,” Mohammed said.
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On the hate speech bill otherwise called the ‘Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill’ sponsored by Senator Sabi Abdullahi, the minister said President Muhammadu Buhari had no hand in the bill and it was ignorant of anyone to accuse him of such.
“What is even more shocking here is the ignorance of people. There’s what we call separation of power in major democracies. This particular bill you’re talking about is a bill submitted not by the executive but by the legislative arm of government, so how can you accuse the executive?” he asked.
According to him, the government has no hand in what bill was sponsored or passed by lawmakers. He said it only comes in after the bill had been passed. Mohammed said all Buhari can do was refuse his assent after it had been passed into law by the National Assembly.
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Nigerians storm National Assembly to protest social media bill | Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
