A rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has filed a legal suit against the Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed, the Federal Government and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for arbitrarily amending the Nigerian Broadcasting Code and raising the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to N5million.
The suit was filed at a Federal High Court in Lagos.
It comes days after the NBC fined a radio station Nigeria Info over comments deemed as hate speech which were made by a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Obadiah Mailafia.
The NBC board had also alleged that Mohammed hijacked the responsibility of the NBC and unilaterally hiked the fine for hate speech without consultation.
Mr Effiong also challenges the fine imposed on the broadcast station.
According to the lawyer in his supporting affidavit, “abusing” or “insulting” the government cannot be criminalised in a democracy.
He said the expression “hate speech” is not defined under any written law and cannot be invoked or penalised based on the capricious expectations of the respondents.
Among his prayers, Effiong wants the court to make “a declaration that broadcast stations in Nigeria, broadcasters, guests and callers during radio and television programmes are entitled to a fair trial before a court of competent jurisdiction as guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9 L.F.N. 2004 before a sentence of fine or other penalties can be imposed on them over comments, views or opinions expressed on radio and television”.
