Festus Keyamo
The Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo has spoken on the
controversy surrounding hate speech and social media bills in Nigeria.
It was reported that a group of Nigerians on Wednesday protested at the National Assembly over the Hate Speech Bill.
The protesters demanded the withdrawal of the bills on hate speech
and internet manipulations. Reacting to the outcry and protest, Keyamo,
condemned the death sentence penalty for hate speech bill.
He, however, urged those opposing social media bill to also apologize to those they blocked on their social media pages
On his Twitter page, Keyamo wrote: “Those so-called overnight
Social Media ‘activists’ who oppose the Social Media Bill should first
stop blocking those who irritate them with insults, unblock all those
they have blocked and apologize to them. You can’t be intolerant and ask
others to be. Practice what you preach.
“Some cannot differentiate the Social Media Bill from the Hate
Speech Bill. Whilst no reasonable person will support death sentence for
hate speech, you can’t come online to say something totally untrue that
can put other lives in danger without some kind of penal consequence .”