EVALUATION OF THE HATE SPEECH BILL AND ITS BREACH ON DEMOCRATIC DOCTRINES IN NIGERIA
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EVALUATION OF THE HATE SPEECH BILL AND ITS BREACH ON DEMOCRATIC DOCTRINES IN NIGERIA
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Democracy is regarded as the world’s most popular form of government. It is widely regarded as the government of the people, for the people, and by the people. Democracy as an ideology is a governing concept that places a high value on citizens’ basic freedoms or fundamental human rights, the rule of law,
the right to property, the free flow of information, and the opportunity to choose between competing political perspectives. Simply expressed, democracy is a political system in which the people have sovereignty rather than a tiny clique or oligarchy, and where the rule of law, majority rule, and constitutionalism are key guiding principles of governance.
Nigeria became a member of the League of Democratic Nations in 1999. One of the defining characteristics of a true democracy is freedom. The capability to express oneself freely without physical or psychological threats (from the government or others) exemplifies one’s ability to be free.
Today, social media allows individuals or groups to sit in the comfort of their bedrooms or offices and, with a click of the mouse or a tap on the screen, express themselves freely to millions of other users who are not bound by the physically defined borders and boundaries of countries or regions.
However, freedom of expression and freedom of the press imply the freedom to say whatever one wants, subject to the repercussions of the law, where applicable, which laws must be fair and reasonably defensible in a constitutional democracy. Thus, whenever this freedom of speech is prohibited, it violates the fundamental human right to freedom of expression and of the press.
Nigerians were recently informed that the Senate was considering a highly contentious law. Senator AliyuSabiAbdullahi, chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, is the primary sponsor of the new law, dubbed the Hate Speech Bill.
According to its Senate sponsor, the Hate Speech Bill aims to eradicate hate speech and discourage harassment based on ethnicity, religion, or race, among other things.
It imposes harsh punishments for offences such as ethnic hate. According to Punch (2018), anyone who uses, publishes, presents, produces, plays, provides, distributes, and/or directs the performance of any material, written or visual, that is threatening, abusive, or insulting, or involves the use of threatening, abusive, or insulting words, commits an offence.
If that isn’t enough to scare you, the consequences for these offences include a five-year prison sentence, a N10 million fine, or both. The prescription of the death penalty, where any sort of hate speech leads in the death of another person, caps it all (Punch, 2018).
Hate speeches are utterances, typed documents, advertorials, musicals, or any other kind of literature meant to attack an individual or a group based on their religious, social, political, business, gender, or race.
In some nations, hate speech can be prosecuted as sedition, incitement to violence, verbal abuse, and other offences. While some argue that defining the hate speech bill as a criminal conduct violates citizens’ constitutionally granted rights to free expression, others argue that it is a violation of democratic ideology.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Sections 22 and 39 of the Nigerian Constitution ensure the freedom of the general people, including the press and civil society organisations, to receive and impart ideas and information by voice, printed word, and other media.
Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution states that “everyone shall have the right to free expression, including the right to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”
However, with the recent adoption of the Hate Speech Bill, the issue over what constitutes hate speech, particularly on social media, has exploded into a new national debate. Critical parts of society,
the media, civil society, pressure groups, universities, writers, and creative/performing artists, who may suffer the brunt of the offensive law, have remained strangely and dangerously silent,
with only a few voices raising the alarm. Many of them believe that the hate speech statute is unconstitutional because it violates fundamental democratic ideals. As a result, this study tries to examine the hate speech bill as a violation of democratic norms in Nigeria from the public’s perspective.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The primary goal of this research is to give an assessment of Nigeria’s hate speech bill and its violations of democratic principles. The study specifically seeks to
Determine the nature of hate speech.
Examine the factors that contributed to the passage of the hate speech bill.
Examine if the hate speech bill violates the right to free expression.
Determine whether hate speech in Nigeria is a bridge over democratic theory.
1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
HO1: The hate speech bill does not impact on free expression.
HI1: The hate speech bill is a violation of free expression.
HO2: The hate speech bill is not a bridge to Nigeria’s democratic ethos.
HO2: The hate speech bill is a bridge on Nigeria’s democratic concept.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study’s findings will be extremely useful to the government, popular social media CEOs, the general public, and academics. The study, according to social media proprietors, would enlighten them on the necessity to build a framework for verifying information given by users, as well as examine the hate bill in such a way that it does not infringe on people’ freedom of speech and makes a mockery of Nigerian democracy.
More importantly, the study will enable the government to enter into an agreement with the owners of social media platforms used by their residents and develop regulatory and filtering mechanisms to combat misinformation published by such platforms.
Finally, the study will add empirically to the body of knowledge and act as a resource for students and researchers interested in conducting additional research in relevant subjects.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study is limited to an assessment of the hate speech bill and its impact on democratic ideologies in Nigeria. It will investigate the nature of hate speech and the factors that led to the introduction of the hate speech bill.
It will determine whether the introduction of the hate speech bill violates Nigeria’s democratic concept while restricting citizens’ freedom of expression. However, the study is confined to Facebook users in Edo State.
1.7LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This research project, like all human endeavours, encountered significant difficulties that threatened to derail its conclusion. One of the causes is that the researcher did not have enough time to perform the task fully because the time provided for this activity was so short. During data collection, the researcher had to work especially hard to grasp the respondents’ interview schedules,
as several of them were incomprehensible in age. There were also financial and transportation obstacles to contend with. Inadequate funding tend to hamper the researcher’s efficiency in locating relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as in the data collection method (internet, questionnaire, interview).
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Hate Speech: A public speech that displays hatred or urges violence against a person or group because of their race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
Hate Speech Bill: A hate speech bill is proposed legislation that is being considered by a legislature in order to restrict public speech that expresses hatred or advocates violence against a person or group based on things like race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation that is published on media platforms.
Democratic Doctrine: Democratic ideals are expressed in the equality of all eligible citizens before the law and equal access to legislative procedures. Legal equality, political freedom, and the rule of law are frequently cited as essential elements of a functioning democracy.
Human rights are moral concepts or norms for particular standards of human behaviour that are routinely protected by local and international law.
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