The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Tuesday vowed to resist attempts by the National Assembly to gag Nigerians through the controversial Social Media and the Prohibition of Hate Speech bills.
The national student body described the two bills as an attempt to deny Nigerians ‘their freedom of expression and democracy”.
The NANS National Publicity Secretary, Azeez Adeyemi, said in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, that the bills are tactical moves by the federal government “to shut the ordinary man, youths and the journalist to pave way for impunity.”
According to him, if the proposed legal frameworks are allowed to pass, the government will be vested with the sole power to determine what hate speech is, and as a result witch – hunts opponents and even journalists.
Adeyemi alleged that already, a number of students are being harassed with police men by lawmakers while the bills have not been finally passed.
He said a student in the Department of Science and Technology Education, Bayero University, Yahuza Tijjani, has been held in prison custody over a Facebook post allegedly against a member of the state House of Assembly.
Adeyemi called on Hon Kabiru Is’mail to as a matter of urgency to release Tijjani within the next 72 hours or “join the list of enemies of our students, stressing that they were ready to fight any oppressor to a standstill on this issue.
“There is no doubt that the Nigerian government is all out to clampdown on critics of their anti- human policies and acts. However, any government going this way is gradually moving toward anarchy, a point Nigerian students will resist with every strength we have.
“Even when the social media bill is yet to be passed into law, lawmakers are beginning to witch – hunt our students who talk about their anti-masses behaviours on social media.
“It should be noted that only students/elite could identify most of these wicked act of politicians as some of them pose to be good intentions even when they meant the opposite,” he said.
