Addressing newsmen on Monday in Lagos, the minister said the allegation made against him by Sen. Francis Fadahunsi representing Osun East Senatorial District, “is fake news”.

“You must have read the fake news attributed to Sen. Fadahunsi that I am behind the hate speech bill at the National Assembly, and that the senator who is sponsoring the bill is fronting for me

“This is a typical example of the fake news we are trying to fight.

“I am not the sponsor of the hate speech bill at the National Assembly. However, I remain committed to sanitising the social media.

“I have said that all stakeholders will be involved in determining the modalities for regulating the social media,” the minister said.

Fadahunsi had alleged that the minister was behind “the bill aimed at crippling quality and vibrant journalism”.

The lawmaker made the allegation while speaking with Journalists in Oshogbo.

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Deji Adeyanju, a civil activist who led the protesters to the National Assembly gate described the bills as “obnoxious”.

The protesters carried placards bearing various inscriptions aimed at rejecting the bills.

According to Adeyanju, the bills are completely out of place having no place in a democracy regime.

”These bills have no place in our laws and nation because the Cybercrime Act of 2015 has already aptly captured the provisions of these bills in its entirety.

”We want to draw the attention of the National Assembly to the provision of Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act of 2015.

“That section of the act has expressly captured all the provisions that the social media and hate speech bill ought to cover,” he said.

Receiving the protesters, Sen. Uba Sani (APC-Kaduna Central), said that the contribution of all segmments of the society would be taken into consideration during public hearings on the bills.

It was reported that the controversial bill on hate speech had on Nov. 12, passed first reading in the upper chamber.

The bill sponsored by the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, while the Bill for an Act to Make Provisions for the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation had passed second reading in the Senate sponsored by Sen. Sani Musa (APC-Niger East).

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Okowa, who repudiated the clause during the 2019 General Harvest at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Anglican Communion, Abuja, stressed that the whole world was moving away from capital punishment as a penalty for an offence.

He noted that it would not be right for the country to resort to death penalty at this time and age.

“I condemn hate speech in totality but we shouldn’t be moving in that direction; it is not the right part, more so, when people could misjudge the intentions of whosoever is making a speech.

“We may not know who will be the determinant at the end of the day and what will constitute the entirety of the hate speech.

“So, you may just find innocent souls dying for nothing and this are souls created by God and not by man,” he said.

Okowa also pointed out that there was great hope in the future if, only, we could sincerely go back to God as individuals and as a nation.

Preaching, the governor charged Nigerians to trust God completely and rely in his strength.

Okowa, who urged Nigerians not to be scared, said that one with God was with majority.

“We must take fear away from our lives, we must also submit totally to God and whatever the situation is, God will resolve it and answer our prayers.

”There are lessons to be learnt for this period that God has taken us through.

“If we can recall those lessons and go back to God, God will definitely bless Nigeria again,” he said.

The Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, the Anglican Primate of Nigeria, who also condemned the death penalty clause in the bill, warned that the proponents of the bill could also be a victim of the offence.

According to him, nobody stays in power forever; the fact that you are in power today, doesn’t mean you will stay in power forever.

“We should not make laws to spite the people. Law is a social science that should organise the society and not to destroy the society,” he said.

Retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr Chris Ezike, also urged Nigerians to put the interest of the country first before personal interests.

Ezike said: “Nigeria was not created this way. We must do the right things hoping that tomorrow will be better.

“The duty of putting this country on the right trajectory is the duty of all of us; government, parents, faith-based organisations etc; we all have roles to play.”

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Falana said this while discussing as a panelist at Digital Voting Summit organised by RestoreNaija, an NGO, on Monday in Abuja.

He said that such law was not with the purview of the NASS but the state.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said that while the issue of hate speech fell under residual list, the National Assembly was empowered to legislate on exclusive and concurrent lists.

“Under Section 4 of the Constitution, NASS can only legislative on matters in the exclusive and concurrent lists.

“I have looked at those lists, I have not found anyway where the NASS has been empowered to make the law on hate speech. It is a state affair on residual list.

“Let everybody know his or her limitations of power so that we will not make mistake.

“If you want to proscribe death penalty, you can do so in your state. In Lagos State for instance, the execution of death penalty has been declared illegal by a court in Lagos.

“Whether you want to kill someone by hanging or firing squad, the court in Lagos has said that it is against Section 34 that has abolished any form of torture.

According to him, if any state wants to legislate on hate speech, it can do so it within its jurisdiction.

Falana said that the Cybercrime Act had taken care of the entire fiats regarding hate speech by making stringent conditions, including fine and prison terms for offenders.

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The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, issued the directive in Abuja at the Annual Lecture Series of the NBC and the 25th Anniversary of the Commission.

The minister said that the directive was part of efforts to stem the growing tide of hate speech in the country.

“As a matter of fact, the challenges facing the NBC have never become more daunting, considering the increasing propensity of some radio and television stations across the country to turn over their platforms to the purveyors of hate speech.

“It is the responsibility of the NBC to put these broadcast stations in check before they set the country on fire.

“As the NBC celebrates what is a milestone – a quarter of a century – in its existence, I urge the Commission to redouble its efforts in discharging its mandate.

“The NBC must ensure a strict adherence to the Broadcasting Code, and errant stations must be sanctioned accordingly to serve as a deterrent.

“The nation looks up to the NBC to restore sanity to the broadcast industry. The Commission cannot afford to do any less at this critical time. It cannot afford to fail the nation,” he said.

The minister cited the ignominious role played by a radio station in fuelling the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 which led to the loss of over 800,000 lives in 100 days.

He, therefore, charged the NBC not to allow the purveyors of hate speech to lead Nigeria to the path of destruction.

“If you tune into many radio stations, for example, you will be shocked by the things being said, the careless incitement to violence and the level of insensitivity to the multi-religious, multi-ethnic nature of our country.

“Unfortunately, even some of the hosts of such radio programmes do little or nothing to stop such incitements.

“Oftentimes, they are willing collaborators of hate speech campaigners. This must not be allowed to continue because it is detrimental to the unity and well-being of our country,” he said.

Speaking earlier, the Director-General, NBC, Ishaq Modibbo-Kawu said that the commission was committed to carrying out its statutory mandate of regulating the broadcast industry.

He said that the Commission would also ensure that the Digital Switch Over in TV broadcasting was achieved to create national digital economy.

The pioneer director-general of the commission, Chief Tom Adaba expressed satisfaction that the commission, which started 25 years back with no guiding template, had become a reference point in broadcasting regulation in Africa.

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