By Unukere Oboh
No fewer than 110 coalition of Civil Society organisations in Nigeria on Wednesday advised the Senate to drop the idea of a public hearing on the Anti-Social Media Bill billed for March 9 in Abuja as it is a waste of legislative time.
The CSO in a media brief, said what is expected of the senators is to use the avenue to apologize to the people for wasting legislative time in resuscitating an obnoxious bill that had been totally rejected and drop the bill.
Speaking on their behalf, the Director, Girl Child Africa, Bukky Shonibare said the draconian bill if passed into law, will be anti-people as even the top leadership in the country had at several forum in the past noted the need for freedom of speech for the people for a viable governance.
“The planned public hearing on SB. 132 should therefore be an avenue to apologize to the people for wasting legislative time in resuscitating an obnoxious bill that had been totally rejected and drop the bill.
“The Senate should rather promote bills that would improve the civic space, and not unduly restrict it.
“We urge the National Assembly, in particular the Senate to view the internet platforms as independent dashboard of ideas where people can freely exchange ideas and express their opinions or thoughts,” they said.
According to the CSOs, It has also come to the knowledge of the people that it is a bill that seeks to give the executive arm of government outright powers to regulate the internet and control communications, but which has been disguised as a private member bill in the Senate.
“ It is therefore instructive, to remind the 9th Senate of the publicly stated position of President Muhammadu Buhari before the first version of the bill was dropped in 2016, and also the position of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Internet/Social Media regulations.
According to the President, “Free speech is central to democratic societies anywhere in the world. Without free speech, elected representatives won’t be able to gauge public feelings and moods about governance issues. As a key component of democratic principles, people in democratic societies are so emotionally attached to free speech that they would defend it with all their might.
According to the Vice President, “I don’t think that government regulation is necessarily the way to go, but I believe that we as persons of faith and we, as leaders, and those of us who use the social media actively owe a responsibility to our society and to everyone else, to ensure that we don’t allow it to become an instrument of conflict and instrument of war.” they explained.
They are of the view that the reintroduction of Bill 132 (Internet/Social-Media) Bill is a draconian and modified version of the defeated “Bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and other matters Connected Therewith, 2015 (SB.143), sponsored under the 8th National Assembly.
The bill which also targeted the internet and on-line media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, and the like, was dropped by the 8th Senate following an outcry by the people in 2016.
The latest attempt by the Senate to resuscitate an obnoxious bill that had been hitherto unanimously rejected by the people constitutes an assault on the people and a flagrant assault on the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) which guarantees the human rights of everyone including to freedom of expression.
They claimed that the people have overwhelmingly rejected any attempt to police the internet and gag the right to freedom of expression through back doors.
Also speaking, Seun Bakare, Head of Programme, Amnesty International said there was no need for any legislation to check fake news but with good leadership, all the concerns raised can be checkmated.
Bakare said the proposed bill is not meant to protect the masses as if people who voted their leaders can not question their actions or otherwise, the country will grapple with greater challenges which may hinder democratic growth in the country.
