Founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola, (SAN), has described the Anti-hate Speech Bill before the Senate as a slide to dictatorship.
The 90-year-old spoke in ABUAD, Ado Ekiti on Wednesday when the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ekiti chapter, led by Rotimi Ojomoyela, presented him an award of excellence for his contributions to humanity and national development.
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Babalola noted that the provisions of the proposed bill in its entirety clearly contravene section 39 of the 1999 constitutions, which guarantee freedom of speech.
“This is the beginning of dictatorship. There are enough laws like defamation, libel, and slander to deal with anybody who publishes falsehood against someone and it comes by way of taking the person to court.
“So, it is of no need to making new laws to deal with somebody who publishes falsehood. There was no need whatsoever for additional laws to deal with that. Though, people are complaining, because the police are not doing well by delaying prosecution of offenders,” Babalola said.
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The Anti-hate Speech Bill, sponsored by Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, has passed the first reading at the National Assembly.
It prescribes the death penalty for anyone found guilty of spreading falsehood that leads to the death of another person.
Abdullahi says critics of the bill pretend to be advocates of free speech in order to blackmail lawmakers from passing it into law.
