Read the bill they want to use to jail Nigerian social media users!

Here's the bill the Senate/Nigerian government wants to use to jail social media users. It's “A Bill for an Act to Prohibit frivolous Petitions and other Matters Connected therewith, Sponsored by Senator Ibn Na’Allah, APC, Kebbi South.

“Where any person in order to circumvent this law makes any allegation and or publish any statement, petition in any paper, radio, or any medium of whatever description, with malicious intent to discredit or set the public against any person or group of persons, institutions of government, he shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction, shall be liable to an imprisonment term of two years or a fine of N4,000,000.00” the bill specified. On the social media, the bill read: 

“Where any person through text message ,tweets, whatsApp or through any social media post any abusive statement knowing same to be false with intent to set the public against any person and group of persons, an institution of government or such other bodies established by law shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction, shall be liable to an imprisonment for two years or a fine of N2,000,000.00 or both fine and imprisonment.”

The bill said it shall be an offence for any petition to be submitted without a sworn affidavit from the law court.