Critical Examination of Hate Speech in Nigeria

Abstract

Hate speech touches on contested issues of dignity, free expression, liberty and democracy. It can thus be argued that there is a conflict between the right to freely advocate however distasteful the idea may be and the right to be free from prejudice and discrimination. In some circumstances, speech is restrained and the right to non-discrimination is preferred over free speech. Hate speech has been used invariably to mean expression which is abusive, insulting, intimidating, harassing or which incites violence, hatred, discrimination against group identified by characteristics such as race, religion, place of birth, residence, region, language, caste, community, sexual orientation or personal convictions. The methodology adopted in this paper was doctrinal. Both primary and secondary sources were employed in carrying out this paper. The finding of the paper is that asides from Nigeria, various countries of the world have adopted some measures to deal with hate speech and other related issues. While some countries have clearly defined laws, some others find it quite unnecessary to create laws that seek to regulate hate speech as it is perceived as an infringement to the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression. This paper recommended that the existing Cyber Crimes Act and the Anti-Terrorism Act, among other pre-existing regulations cover many of the offences the new bill seek to address rather than waste valuable resources on the enactment of fresh laws to enable effective implementation and avoid a situation of plurality of laws. Perhaps one of the most effective ways of combating hate speech would be to marginalize purveyors of such speeches. In the U.K., while far-right, fascist parties like the British National Party and the racist ideas they support are not banned, mainstream British politician avoid associating openly with members of such parties. In Nigeria, on the other hand, offensive and hate speech mongers are often seen as regional and ethnic heroes.