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Hate Speech Bill and Controversies

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By Naomi Sharang

One of the bills before the 9th Senate is the Hate Speech Bill, which was reintroduced by the sponsor, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, on Nov.12, 2019.

Hate Speech Bill and Controversies

Abdullahi, who is also the Deputy Senate Chief Whip, had in March 2018, introduced the bill for consideration and passage, but did not make it through to third reading.

The bill prescribed death by hanging for any person found guilty of any form of hate speech that results in the death of another person.

It seeks the establishment of the National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speech.

“The proposed commission is expected to enforce hate speech laws in the country and ensure the elimination of hate speech.

“For offences such as harassment on grounds of ethnicity or race, the offender shall be sentenced to not less than a five-year jail term or a fine of not less than N10 million or both.”

The bill also proposed that: “A person who uses, publishes, presents, produces, plays, provides, distributes and/or directs the performance of any material, written and/or visual, which is threatening, abusive or insulting or involves the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, commits an offence.’’

After the bill was reintroduced, it elicited mixed reactions, as many described the bill as unnecessary as issues of hate were taken care of by extant laws

But the sponsor argued that existing laws on defamation and libel were grossly inadequate to tackle the issue of hate speech.

According to Abdullahi, parliaments across the world have identified hate speech as a new threat that dehumanises and targets individuals and groups, and also threatens peace in a diversified society.

The lawmaker stated that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which is a 47-nation member organisation, in a report identified threats posed by hate speech to include: exclusion among minority groups, alienation, marginalisation, the emergence of parallel societies, and ultimately radicalisation.

These, Abdullahi warned, are present features in the socio-dynamics of Nigeria as a nation, which places the country on the brink of implosion from the effect of hate speech.

He said that given the complex dynamics associated with hate speech, “the provisions of defamation and libel laws in Nigeria clearly lack the grip to tackle the dimensions of hate speech in acts such as victimisation, marginalisation and exclusion.

“Hate Speech Bill is about prohibiting incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence,” he said.

In protest against the bill, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) at its 15th All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC) expressed their opposition to fake news and hate speech.

The Acting President of the Guild, Mustapha Isah, said that the guild was not in support and would never support fake news and hate speech.

” Our members are trained professionals. It is true that the social media space, like any other ecosystem, is being abused by some people,” he said.

He, however, said that the guild was not in support of any move to “surreptitiously curtail press freedom.’’

On his part, a human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), says that the National Assembly has no power to enact a law on hate speech for the entire country.

He said that such law was not within the purview of the National Assembly, but the states.

He said that while the issue of hate speech fell under the residual list, the National Assembly was empowered to legislate on exclusive and concurrent lists.

“Under Section 4 of the Constitution, NASS can only legislate on matters in the exclusive and concurrent lists.

“I have looked at those lists, I have not found anyway where the NASS has been empowered to make the law on hate speech. It is a state affair on the residual list.

“Let everybody know his or her limitations of power so that we will not make a mistake.

“If you want to prescribe the death penalty, you can do so in your state. In Lagos State for instance, the execution of death penalty has been declared illegal by a court in Lagos.

“Whether you want to kill someone by hanging or firing squad, the court in Lagos has said that it is against Section 34 that has abolished any form of torture.’’

According to him, if any state wants to legislate on hate speech, it can do so within its jurisdiction.

Falana said that the Cybercrime Act had taken care of the entire fiats regarding hate speech by providing stringent conditions, including fine and prison terms for offenders.

Throwing his weight behind the proposed bill, Political Officer of the Embassy of the United States of America, Jerry Howard, described the proposed bill as an “impressive” piece of legislation needed to address issues of discrimination, hostility and violence in Nigeria.

Howard described the response of the media as “misleading” and “hysterical” of the contents of the bill and what it actually sought to achieve.

Speaking on the decision of the US Embassy to engage the National Assembly on the bill, Howard said, “We want Nigeria to succeed and we think a prerequisite for Nigeria’s success is successful democracy.”

After heated debate on the bill, the sponsor of the bill who represents Niger North Senatorial District said that the Senate may amend the death penalty clause in the bill.

“The death penalty proposed in the bill will be amended by the Senate when it is subjected to legislative input at the National Assembly.

“We have followed closely arguments for and against the hate speech bill, and seen the reason why some kicked against it.

“Given the high respect which we have for Nigerians, we will make amendment to the death penalty aspect that most Nigerians objected to so that a bill that meets their expectations is passed into law.”

The debate rages on, while Nigerians anxiously wait to see how the dust will settle.


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StarNews, Global Black Economic Forum Launch Business Competition In Partnership with MTN & USAID

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Africa’s leading video streaming platform, StarNews Mobile and the Global Black Economic Forum (GBEF), have announced a call for applications for the launch of their Business Competition in Lagos, Nigeria.

Held in partnership with MTN and United Nations Agency for International Development (USAID), the initiative will empower Nigeria’s most promising businesses that are classified as Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with invaluable investment and partnership opportunities from the USA.

Held over 10 weeks between April 8th to June 14th, hosted exclusively on the StarNews Biz Channel on the StarNews platform, this competition offers a platform for emerging entrepreneurs to showcase their ventures and gain national visibility.

With subscribers voting for their favourite candidates, the top 20 contestants will seize the spotlight and make their mark on the business landscape.

The StarNews Business Competition in partnership with GBEF delivers a unique opportunity for thriving Nigerian SMEs to access mentoring, funding, partnerships and socio-economic development tools through the Global Black Economic Forum.

With the prospect of securing cash prizes through StarNews worth up to NGN5,000,000, getting access to StarNews’s network of investors and the opportunity to gain national visibility by having their business on the StarNews web platform.

The top three winners will also receive coaching from GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence and become part of GBEF’s ecosystem of global leaders committed to social and economic justice across the Black Diaspora.

Previous speakers at GBEF convenings from the entertainment sector include Wyclef Jean (Haitian Musician & Activist), Debra Lee (Former CEO of Black Entertainment Television – BET) and Ceci Kurzman (Founder of Nexus Management Group). Applications will close on April 5th 2024.

Speaking on the competition’s launch, Guy Kamgaing, Founder and CEO at StarNews Mobile, says “The StarNews Business Competition is a passion project close to our hearts at StarNews Mobile.

It’s about discovering the most promising business entrepreneurs and creators in Nigeria, opening up global opportunities for them and providing them with the resources and tools to achieve their goals.

By partnering with MTN, USAID and GBEF, we want to be a platform of empowerment for these SMEs by helping them give back to the communities that are supporting them.”

According to the US Embassy and Consulate for Nigeria, over 80% of Nigerian startups are incorporated in the United States and more than 60% of venture capital funding in Nigerian startups accounted for by the US.

In 2023 alone, Nigerian startups raised a total of $398mn however, this signalled a 66% funding decline compared to 2022 due to the global economic downturn, reinforcing the massive need for a fresh injection of capital and business support for Nigeria’s emerging SMEs.

Alphonso David, President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum notes that, “Our partnership with StarNews Mobile is a critical resource as we continue to build the collective strength of entrepreneurship across the Diaspora.

“Building a sustainable ecosystem of Black entrepreneurs in the United States and across the African continent is essential to create a future that makes economic opportunity and economic freedom a reality for all.”

A sister company to ESSENCE, GBEF advances its work by convening global summits and conferences, bringing together world leaders, business leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities and civic leaders to address the most challenging problems facing our communities.

GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence facilitates workforce and leadership development strategy, addressing the talent pipeline & employee lifecycle, providing leadership development & coaching, and conducting institutional assessments & research.

GBEF also develops and implements economic and social justice policy recommendations with partners ranging from civil and human rights organisations to government entities and corporations that advocate for economic opportunity, social justice, and health equity through thought leadership, advocacy and litigation.

Launched in 2017, StarNews Mobile empowers African content creators with the unique opportunity to monetize their work through a subscription model, boasting over 4 million subscribers and a thriving community of more than 120 content creators.

With a strong presence across six countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire, Congo, Benin and Ghana, the platform has also established key partnerships with major telecom operators such as MTN and Orange.

To-date, StarNews Mobile has secured over $8mn in funding with its most recent raise – a $3mn pre-Series A funding round in October 2023 – led by Janngo Capital with participation from French football players Aurélien Tchouaméni, Jules Koundé and Mike Maignan.

 


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Companies Invest More than $100,000 Yearly to Upskill their Cybersecurity Teams – Study Reveals

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Over 70% of businesses pay more than USD $100,000 for additional training annually to keep skills of their cybersecurity employees up to date, a recent global Kaspersky study has revealed.

However, the surveyed companies also highlighted that there was a lack of relevant courses covering new challenging spheres in the educational market and stated that training does not always bring them the expected result.

In its recent study ‘The portrait of the modern Information Security professional’, Kaspersky examined the topic of the global cybersecurity staff shortage, analysing the exact reasons businesses lack cybersecurity experts, and identifying the ways they evaluate and upskill their cybersecurity workforce¹.

According to the research, companies are investing significant amounts in upskilling their cybersecurity teams: 43% of organisations globally say they usually spend between $100,000 and $200,000 per year on information security courses, while 31% even invest over $200,000 for training programs. The remaining 26% state they usually pay less than $100,000 for educational initiatives².

However, cybersecurity practitioners also note that the educational market is struggling to keep up with the rapidly changing industry and fail to deliver the necessary training programs on time.

Survey results for the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa (META) region shows that the scarcity of courses covering new challenging spheres (48%) was the main problem for those searching for cybersecurity training.

50% of respondents from the META region also stated that trainees tend to forget what they learned because they had no opportunity to apply newly acquired knowledge, therefore the courses were useless to them.

The need for special training pre-requisites such as coding and advanced mathematics, which were not specified at the pre-registration stage were also problematic for 37% of practitioners from the META region.

“With a constantly evolving threat landscape, businesses should continually improve the skills of their cybersecurity personnel in order to be well prepared for sophisticated cyberattacks.

“Developing high-profile specialists within the company and building internal expertise can be an effective strategy for organisations that aim to retain existing employees and allow them to grow professionally, instead of constantly hunting for new candidates and checking their professional backgrounds and practical skills.

“For organisations served by Managed Service Providers it is also important to maintain a pretty high level of expertise internally and use the same language when discussing the scope of services and Service Level Agreement with them,” comments Veniamin Levtsov, VP, Center of Corporate Business Expertise at Kaspersky.


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Heirs Insurance Launches User-friendly Website for Stakeholders

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Heirs Insurance Group, Nigeria’s fastest growing insurance group, has launched a new website that delivers the most user-friendly insurance experience in the industry.

Heirs Insurance Launches User-friendly Website for Stakeholders

In addition to its features that aid simple navigation, the website also personalizes the insurance experience taking customers through a short journey that enables them to make decisions quickly on the best insurance plan to support their personal and business success, or access competent insurance advisors to speak with.

According to Ifesinachi Okpagu, chief marketing officer, Heirs Insurance Group, the website, www.heirs insurance group.com, embodies the ethos of the brand: the delivery of simple, quick, and accessible insurance service that delights customers and brings the uninsured much closer to taking up insurance plans.

She said: “Today’s customers want simplicity and this new website delivers on that request, ensuring that people find the right insurance solutionsfor their needs in a few minutes. We are empowering customers to take control of their lives, their businesses, assets, and their most cherished people.” Heirs Insurance Group has been at the forefront of pioneering a new era of insurance solutions since its launch with the roll-out of various initiatives including a seamless mobile app, USSD; Prince, its intuitive chatbot; InConnect, its partnership portal Digital Experience Centre; and more. With the launch of this website, Heirs Insurance Group solidifies its position as the leading digital insurance company in Nigeria, democratising access to insurance for all.


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