Hate Speech: Punishable by Death?

Nigeria's government has been ramping up as of recent with even more controversial legislature! Along with the social media bill which was previously posted on, Nigeria's Senate is preparing legislation which makes hate speech punishable by death. The bill is called "The Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill", and includes an extensive repository of possible wrongdoings one could commit. Based on the bill, hate speech can be defined in a variety of different ways, whether it be through the "publication or presentation of material deemed to stir up ethnic hatred" or from "written or visual acts seen as threatening, abusive, insulting, or offensive". 

Like the social media bill, the hate speech bill has also been met with much debate from the Nigerian public. The bill definitely comes with a very real possibility of intense punishment. The proposed states that a person who has committed an offense can be jailed for life, but if their actions are "found to have caused loss of life, the punishment can be death by hanging". To address concerns from the public about the severity of punishment, Senator Abdullahi, sponsorer of the bill, has indicated that the death sentence stipulation of the bill could be removed. Still, Abdullahi insists that stricter laws must be implemented as hate speech has become an increasing problem for Nigerians.

Bibliography:

Abdulrauf, Abdulrahman. “Nigeria Bill Aims at Punishing Hate Speech with Death: DW: 26.11.2019.” DW.COM, 26 Nov. 2019, https://www.dw.com/en/nigeria-bill-aims-at-punishing-hate-speech-with-death/a-51419750.