Social media frivolous bill: PAMED asks Senate to drop bill

Emeka Ibemere

There has been an outrage of reactions following the planned move by the National assembly, especially the senate to pass bill that will sentence any social media offenders in Nigeria to two years jail. This move, though, has drawn the eye of various media experts and media stakeholders, including the President Muhammadu Buhari.

Having carefully followed the issue, the Partnership for Media and Democracy in Nigeria, PAMED, said it has carefully studied the content of the Frivolous Petitions (Prohibition, etc.) Bill, 2015 which was sponsored by one Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, representing Kebbi South Senatorial District, and decided to request for the dropping of the alleged frivolous bill.

In a press release made available to Newswatch Times and signed by Dr. Akin Akingbulu, Executive Director, Institute of Media and Society (IMESO), Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and Lanre Arogundade, Director, International Press Centre (IPC), said the bill constitutes a threat to democracy.

According to PAMED, which comprises the Institute of Media and Society (IMESO), Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and the International Press Centre (IPC), they reached the decision to request the senate chamber to drop the proposed bill after they painstakingly studied the bill and come to the conclusion the bill constitutes a threat to democracy because it seeks to repress the social media, the conventional media, the civil society and the citizenry as a whole.

Senator Na’Allah’s bill seeks to make illegal, the common act of individuals sponsoring frivolous petitions to tarnish or blackmail public servants or political office holders for selfish purposes. The bill also seeks to make it a requirement for petitioners to depose to an affidavit in court which must be attached to any petition. Where such petition is discovered to be frivolous or mischievous or the facts there in are false, the proposed bill makes it a case of perjury which is an offense under the law.

It was in the light of all the pressing development challenges confronting the country, which should be the priorities of the Senators and all other persons exercising any form of political power or authority, that the PAMED is of the view that the bill itself is frivolous and unwarranted.

According to PAMED, the bill, through its frivolous content and malicious intent, seeks to achieve nothing other than undermining freedom of expression, press freedom, public participation in governance and democracy.

“For example, the bill in section 3 states that: “.....any person who makes any allegation and or publish any statement, petition in any paper, radio, or any medium of whatever description, with malicious intent, to discredit or set the published against any person or group of persons, institutions of government, he shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to an imprisonment term of two year or a fine of N4, 000,000:00”, PAMED, highlighted.

“The bill also states in section 4 that “Where any person through text messages, tweets, WhatsApp, or through any social media post any abusive statement knowing same to be false with intent to set the public against any person and or group of persons, an institution of Government or such other bodies established by law shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to an imprisonment for two years or a fine of N2, 000,000:00 or both such fine and imprisonment.”

PAMED therefore affirms that the bill violates all the norms of democratic practise, freedom of expression, press freedom, transparency and accountability as well as open governance.

PAMED further holds that the bill completely negates the letters and spirit of important international conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 19), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 19) and the African Charter on Human Rights (Article 9) all of which affirm the right of citizens to hold opinion, freely express themselves and freely disseminate information.  

The group said if the bill becomes Law, it will have the effect of imposing an unwarranted pre-condition for the exercise of this right, which is now globally recognized as not just a fundamental right in itself but also as an enabler of all other rights, including other civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights.

PAMED therefore, wishes to inform the Senators that by seeking to gag the press through the Frivolous Petitions Bill, they are actually subverting the constitution which they have sworn to uphold, particularly section 22 of chapter II which states unequivocally that:

 “The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this Chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people.”

PAMED contends that it is an exercise in frivolity for a national legislature to suggest that any citizen wishing to write a petition or make an allegation or that any media outlet seeking to publish such a petition or allegation should first be subjected to the unnecessary hardship of going to a high court to depose to an affidavit before proceeding. It is clearly unheard of anywhere in the world.  PAMED deems it necessary to remind the Senators that being elected representatives of the people does not transform them into untouchable gods who cannot be criticised by those that they ought to be serving.

Senators are indeed nothing but mere public servants who the citizens, the media and the civil society are free to make accountable through any legitimate means including petitions, criticisms, allegations of non-performance or misconduct and the publication of such in any media of their choice, a right guaranteed them by the Nigerian Constitution as well as regional and international human rights instruments. In the circumstance, PAMED believes that the only path of honour left for the Nigerian Senate is to immediately and without any further ado drop the bill, otherwise it would continue to bring upon itself more pubic odium, derision and protests.

It will be recall that President Muhammadu Buhari has criticised the controversial social media bill that is currently being debated in the senate. The Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and other Matters Connected Therewith has caused outrage as many believe it is an attempt to curb freedom of speech and target government critics. It passed a second reading at the senate earlier in December.

 

"President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated the commitment of his administration to the protection of free speech in keeping with democratic tradition," the president's assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said in a statement.

"But he is not averse to lawful regulation, so long as that is done within the ambit of the constitution which he swore to uphold. The president said free speech is central to democratic societies anywhere in the world. The president explained that without free speech, elected representatives won't be able to gauge public feelings and moods about governance issues."

Shehu said that Buhari reassured the public that the senate was democratic. However, the senate would continue to discuss the bill which, according to some senators, would tackle frivolous petitions and protect honest civil servants.

However, Human Rights Watch warned that the proposed law was designed to muzzle free speech and could affect more than 15 million Nigerians who were active on social media. Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SEPRAP) filed a petition against the bill and said in a statement the UN Special Rapporteur was considering the appeal. The bill being made reference to is An Act to prohibit frivolous petitions and other related matters, which absolutely makes no mention of jailing social media users.