By Bode Olagoke Abuja
Th e federal government has revealed that a Bill that will make it diffi cult for perpetrators of hate speeches is on the way. Already the proposed Bill initiated by the Federal Ministry of Interior would soon be presented to the National Assembly after it must have been fi ne tuned by the offi ce of the Justice Minister and Attorney-General of the federation led by Mr. Abubakar Malami.
Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen Abdulrahman Dambazzau (retd), revealed this while speaking with newsmen after a closed door meeting with members of the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee of All Progressive Congress (APC) at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja. While decrying the recurring incidence of hate speeches in the polity, Dambazau said that severe punishment would be meted on any person found guilty of perpetrating the dastard act once the legislation sailed through in the National Assembly. He said: “Hate speech should not be allowed in this country. Everybody is entitled to belong to his religion he believes in.
Everybody is entitled to his faith. When we were born, we didn’t choose the tribe we want to belong to. “Th at is how God brought us to the world and there is absolutely no reason for hate speech or hate anybody whatsoever. So, if the National Assembly passes that law, certainly anybody who is engaged in hate speech would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.” Dambazzau, who briefed the party offi cials on the activities of his ministry, faulted the news making the rounds that there was recruitment racketeering involving outfi ts like the Nigeria Police force (NPF), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Prisons service (NPS), the Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). He also assured that his ministry would ensure that the ongoing recruitment exercise of 1,112 personnel into the NIS was carried out in a just and transparent manner.
