HUMAN rights activists and legal practitioners have begun to express their views with constructive criticisms on the sixth amended Broadcasting Code of the National Broadcasting Code (NBC) launched by the federal government on Tuesday, August 4th. The hate speech code has been reviewed, raising the fine for hate speech from N500,00.00 to N5 million.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who unveiled the document at an event in Lagos, had explained that the code was reviewed in line with the directive of the President for an inquiry into the regulatory role of the NBC in the wake of the 2019 general elections. He stated further that the focal rationale of the government was the good of the country, stressing the need to catalyse the growth of the local industry and create jobs for creative Nigerian youths.
Meanwhile, in less than 12 hours of the unveiling, human rights activists and legal practitioners in the country have begun expressing dissimilar views and criticizing the new NBC Code.
A Lagos-based human rights activist and legal practitioner, Oladayo Ogungbe, Esq., had a chat with Alimosho Today and his reaction appears intriguing with a high stem on human issues.
Reacting to the upwardly reviewed fine, the solicitor said that there was nothing wrong with the Act in itself.
This, he said, is because “it is intended to curb public incitement, political uprising and the wanton killings in the country without any verifiable truth.” This he buttressed that we live in an age where news spreads like wildfire and it might have caused irreparable damages before its authenticity could be verified."
Barrister Ogungbe, however, expressed concern with the “implementation and motives” behind the Act, pointing out that the enactment of the law was not intended in a good cause, as the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government merely enacted the new code in a bid to silence the voice of the opposition. He also revealed that the Act could be manipulated to suit their purpose, subjecting it to multiple interpretations and using it to arrest and imprison perceived opponents.
Ogungbe believes that individuals on social media can also be arrested with the new code while innocently reaching out to the government to yield to their appeals, especially when such is becoming popular or trending against the government.
Clarifying his point, the lawyer gave an example of a lawyer in Abia State who was arrested for ferociously challenging the governor on Facebook. This was also reported by Punch Newspapers.
Gabriel Ogbonna was arrested and detained by the Department of State Services after he allegedly posted a defamatory comment on social media against the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu. He was actually telling one Gbenro Adeoye about his client’s detention and how it is affecting his health.
When asked about the functionality of the basic fundamental human right of Freedom of Speech, Ogungbe revealed that the new Hate Speech Act would be tested very soon at the court alongside the provisions in the constitution that guarantee Freedom of Speech.
