Activists decry planned secret passage of social media bill

A coalition of human rights organisations operating under the umbrella of Centre for Liberty on Wednesday protested against the alleged plan by the Senate to secretly pass the Social Media Bill despite its widespread rejection by Nigerians.

According to members of the coalition, Nigerians will not accept a sneaky passage of the SMB, as such action will drastically damage the confidence of the public in the 9th Senate.

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The Centre for Liberty was reacting to reports that plans had already been concluded to pass the bill without delay, hiding behind the COVID-19 pandemic and other national issues.

The protesters displayed placards with inscriptions such as ‘Social Media Bill, Hate Speech Bill are anti-democratic’, ‘#InternetNoBeEnemy’ ‘Social Media Bill, Hate Speech Bill a misplacement of priority’, ‘1999 Constitution (as amended) in danger, #SayNoToSocialMediaBill’, ‘Kill the Social Media Bill, Hate Speech Bill Now’, and ‘#InternetNoBeEnemy’, to ventilate their grievances.

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Among those who led the protest were the Co-Convener of CFL, Raphael Adebayo; Executive Director of LEX Initiative for Rights Advocacy and Development, Augusta Yaakugh; Executive Director of Tap Initiative, Martin Obono and Amarachi Ogwuma of Global Rights.

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