General Social MediaBill: Nigerians vs the Senate

Who will blink first, the Senate or the social media masses? While the Senators are insisting that the proposed law is good for a robust social media, the masses are demanding that the bill be dumped in the waste bin. Renamed the Social Media Bill, the proposed law which has its original title as,”An Act to prohibit frivolous petitions; and other matters connected therewith” was sponsored by Senator Bala  Ibn Na’Allah (APC, Kebbi South). The thrust of the law is a stiff penalty for social media offenders, false petitioners, with even traditional media not left out in its provisions.
The draft law, which gained national prominence hours after it scaled through the second reading penultimate Wednesday, mandates a petitioner to swear an affidavit either at a Federal or state High Court. The first clause of the law reads: “Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, it shall be unlawful to submit any petition, statement intended to report the conduct of any person for the purpose of an investigation, inquiry and or inquest without a duly sworn affidavit in the High Court or the Federal High Court, confirming the content to be true and correct and in accordance with the Oaths Act.”
“Any petition and or complains not accompanied by a sworn affidavit shall be incompetent and shall not be used by any government institution, agency or bodies established by any law for the time being enforced in Nigeria,” the bill stipulated, further stating: “Any person who unlawfully uses, publish or cause to be published any petition, complaint not supported by a duly sworn affidavit shall be deemed to have committed an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to imprisonment for six months without an option of fine.” It also read: “Any person who acts, uses or cause to be used any petition or complaints not accompanied by a duly sworn affidavit shall be deemed to have committed an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to an imprisonment for a term of two years or fine of N200,000 or both.”
The bill does not spare traditional media. It said: “Where any person in order to circumvent this law makes any allegation and or publish any statement, petition in any radio or any medium of whatever description, with malicious intent to discredit or set the public 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 of two years or a fine of N4m.”
The provision of the proposed law that covers social media was the last clause on the Bill, goes thus: “Where any person through text messages, tweets, WhatsApp or through any social media posts 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 N2m or both.”
The Bill did not generate any heat on the floor before it passed through the second reading, except for the observation of the Deputy Senate, Ike Ekweremadu on its title. It was a day after that it spurred debate, with Senators on the floor throwing their weight behind the Bill. The legislators, cutting across party divides, said the Bill must scale through in order to sanitise the social media. But since then, it has been receiving a bashing from all corners of the Red Chamber, climaxing last Tuesday when hundreds of protesters stormed the National Assembly, demanding the bill be binned.
Carrying a variety of placards, the protesters said their message represent that of the generality of Nigerians on the proposed law. More than the protesters, however, the statement of President Muhammadu Buhari dealt a very serious blow to the Bill when he reiterated his commitment to the protection of free speech in keeping with democratic tradition. “I’m not averse to lawful regulation, so long as is done within the ambit of the constitution which I swore to uphold,” Buhari said. Without free speech, he said elected representatives would not be able to gauge public moods about governance issues.
Professional  media bodies both local and international including the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ),  International Press Institute (IPI) and among others have condemned the bill  saying it is aimed to criminalize social media and muzzling free speech.
Also kicking against the Bill, popular Lagos-based lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) said Nigerians from all walks of life should come together to resist any attempt to subvert their fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression.
Head of Department of Mass Communication of Bayero University Kano (BUK), Dr. Balarabe Maikaba also condemned the Bill. “Agreed, there are a lot of violations and people are engaging in serious diatribe and other unethical behaviour. But to me, social media is self-correcting and like the entire democratic process itself, time would give room for correction mechanisms.” He said Members of the National Assembly and the generality of Nigerians should rise up against the Bill because it is a negation of the cardinal tenets of the democratic principles.
But the Senate is insisting that the Bill was in the best interest of the masses. Relaying the position of the Upper Chamber, its Spokesperson, Aliyu Sabi, said the uproar the Bill generated was as a result of its misconception and misunderstanding. “The senate is committed to freedom of speech and a fully inclusive and participatory democracy. The process of passing a bill is comprehensive and provide for inputs to be taken from all and sundry. The  first stage is merely to read the short title of the bill. The second stage is purely to debate the general principles.”
Sabi added that the next stage is to refer the bill to appropriate committee or committees for further detailed legislative action where the details, intendment and clause by clause implications of the bill is dissected by the committee. “This stage also involve public hearing in which members of the public, civil society, nongovernmental organizations and all interested parties for or against the bill have the opportunity to shape and influence its content,” he said.
Reacting to the uproar trailing his Bill, Na’Allah said he is ready to die doing the right thing. “There is nothing hurried about this bill. The public hearing is going to take place, it is passing through the normal procedure. Every Nigerian has a representative in the senate and I remember when I moved for the second reading of the bill,  the Senate President asked whether any senator wished to speak against it, but none of them spoke. Why didn’t the public speak through their representative then?”
Na’Allah, now controversial and a veritable persona non grata on social media, added: “I am ready to give my life doing what is good for this country. I didn’t come to the Senate because I like what I am doing. I am here for a purpose.”
On reports Na’Allah is pushing the bill on behalf of Senate President Bukola Saraki, he said he is too old for the Senate President to toss him around. “Those who know me well will tell you that I don’t have a boss. I am an independent person,” he added.
On the stance of Civil Society and owners of online media to stop the bill through the courts, he said: “Let them go to court. I am a lawyer. You think I am afraid of court? Based on my little understanding of the law, I possess the capacity to defend this.”
Nigeria boasts a vibrant social media scene, boosted by growing mobile phone usage. Growing numbers of youth and public commentators find a voice on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, rallying around issues like #BringBackOurGirls, bringing them international attention. Social media also occupied the forefront of this year’s presidential race, with analysts believing that the APC benefitted heavily from it.
While the four weeks given to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Legal Matters to look into the Bill will elapse during the first week of January 2016, the outrage of social media groups and individual users continues to rise. Just how far Na’Allah’s Bill can go, or how potent a weapon social media itself can be in protecting itself, remains to be seen.
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