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Campaign against fake news, FG budgets N336m to combat hate speech
By Modupe Shodeinde
In the 2021 budget presented by the President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly on Thursday, the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture had earmarked N336m to campaign against fake news and hate speech.
On the allocation, the budget reads “ERGP9124023 Special enlightenment campaign on government policies and programmes; testimonial series to gauge impact of government policies on the citizenry, advocacy against fake news, hate speech, farmers-herder clashes, banditry, rape etc. ongoing- N336,015,959.”
In its recent measures to curb fake news and hate speech, the Federal Government has put in place strict measure which has garnered criticisms from various rights groups, who have pointed it out as a way to stifle freedom of speech.
Currently, a bill which is tagged “National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speeches”, is before the Senate, sponsored by the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Abdullahi Aliu Sabi (APC, Niger State).
This bill proposes death penalty on anyone whose speech has led to the death of another.
The bill states that , “Any person who commits an offence under this section shall be liable to life imprisonment and where the act causes any loss of life, the person shall be punished with death by hanging.”
While ethnic harassment and racial contempt will attract a five-year jail term or a fine of not less than N10m or both.
Recently, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), amended the Broadcasting code, increasing the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to N5m.
