ABUJA — President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, distanced himself from the proposed Social Media
Bill currently being debated in the Senate seeking
to restrict Nigerians from “criticizing” political and
public office holders. Muhammadu Buhari and Bukola Saraki This is just as the United Nations is considering the
petition filed by rights group, Socio-Economic
Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), against
the bill The President speaking through his Senior Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba
Shehu, stated that the principle of the bill was
inconsistent with democratic ideals of free speech
enshrined in the constitution of the land. He added that he had sworn to protect and uphold
the dictates of the constitution and would not in
anyway go against it. President Buhari, however, stated that he was “not
averse to lawful regulation, so long as that is done
within the ambit of the constitution” which he
swore to uphold, noting that free speech was
central to democratic societies anywhere in the
world. “The President won’t assent to any legislation that
may be inconsistent with the constitution of
Nigeria,” he said. He further explained that 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 are
so emotionally attached to free speech that they
would defend it with all their might,” he said. Shehu explained that President Buhari was fully
aware of the public reservations about the
proposed legislation but assured that there was no
cause for alarm “because the Senate is a democratic
Senate. The bill, however, has passed second reading in the
Senate. UN hears petition on the bill Meanwhile, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
promotion and protection of the right to freedom of
opinion and expression, Mr. David Kaye is
considering the urgent appeal against the bill In a statement, yesterday, by SERAP executive
director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation
said: “SERAP can confirm that the Office of the
Special Rapporteur is now considering our petition.
We have received communication from Marcelo
Daher at the Office of the Special Rapporteur to this effect. The Special Rapporteur has also requested a
copy of the bill, which SERAP has promptly sent to
Marcelo Daher. “SERAP appreciates the prompt attention to this
matter by the Office of the Special Rapporteur. We
urge the UN to pursue this matter to a satisfactory
conclusion by ensuring that the Nigerian Senate is
not allowed to strangulate media freedom and
social media in the country,” the group said. According to the group, “the only option for the
Senate now is to withdraw this obnoxious bill
without further delay and end this international
embarrassment. SERAP will be prepared to
withdraw the petition at the UN if the Senate can
follow this honourable path.” SERAP, last week, sent an urgent appeal to Mr. David
Kaye requesting him to “use your good offices and
position to urgently request the National Assembly
of Nigeria, specifically the Senate, to withdraw a bill
which if passed into law would undermine the
internationally recognized right to freedom of expression and press freedom on the internet in
the country.” The urgent appeal Mr Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, was copied in the urgent appeal. In the urgent appeal, the organisation expressed
serious concerns “that the National Assembly of
Nigeria will any moment from now pass a bill to jail
for two years and fine anybody or group of
persons who send any alleged false text message
or post false message on the social media against another person. “SERAP is concerned that rather than increasing
universal and inclusive access to the Internet for all
Nigerians, the National Assembly of Nigeria is
working to undermine access of citizens to the
Internet. Yet, freedom of expression entails the
ability to both speak and receive information, including through the social media and other
generated content services such as YouTube,
Twitter, Facebook, and chat applications. “By initiating this bill, the National Assembly is
impermissibly restricting the ability of the citizens to
use these tools to communicate, connect, and seek
independent sources of information. “SERAP also contends that the bill will restrain
access to Internet and social media, curtail the
freedom of the press, and online content in
illegitimate, disproportionate, or otherwise
unlawful and abusive ways. The real targets of the
bill are social media and human rights defenders that might be critical of government policies or
report on corruption involving high ranking
government officials. “International law provides that any restriction to
rights online must be provided in law, pursuant to a
legitimate aim, and limited to only what is necessary
and proportionate. SERAP believes that the bill falls
far short of international requirements of
legitimacy, necessity and proportionality. “The bill will also have chilling effect on freedom of
expression in the country, as it will create an
atmosphere of fear among bloggers and online
activists who may not post critical commentary on
Facebook or other social media platforms for fear of
being sent to jail.”
cullled from vanguardnews

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lmao ..huhuhuhuhu i love this man

final word!

see as some mentally unbalanced folks will come here and try to prove that Buhari did not say what he said.