Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris,
yesterday, explained why the military cannot dabble into enforcement of
Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention ETC) Act, 2015, which the executive has
categorised as “hate speech” in social media.
The IGP
said enforcement of the law is not within the military’s purview.
He also
disclosed that offenders risk 10 years jail time and N25 million fine, on
conviction.
Idris
reiterated that it is the responsibility of the police to maintain law and
order in a democratic society, hence, the Armed Forces should not be allowed to
arrest alleged purveyors of hate speeches.
Speaking
at a roundtable organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA), in Abuja for
bloggers, online publishers, social media influencers and the traditional
media, on the dangers of the current spate of hate speeches in the country, the
police boss urged Nigerians to be mindful of Sections 24 and 26 of the Act.
Idris,
who was represented by Mr. London Joseph, reminded social media operators that
an offender, on conviction risk imprisonment for 10 years and/or a minimum fine
of 25m.
“For the
avoidance of doubt, section 4 of the Police Act has empowered the Nigeria
Police Force to arrest and prosecute criminal suspects in the country.
“However,
section 47 (1) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention ETC) Act provides
that law enforcement agencies shall have power to prosecute offences under this
Act while section 58 thereof defines law enforcement agencies to include “any
agency for the time being responsible for implementation and enforcement of the
provisions of this Act.” Continuing, he added
that, “as the Nigerian Army is not one of the law enforcement agencies
envisaged by the Act and other penal laws, it should not be permitted to enforce
any of the laws against hate speeches.”
Director
of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche had recently explained that
the military’s monitoring of the media was only to get information for threat
analysis, which had nothing to do with monitoring hate speech on social media.
In his
remarks, NOA Director General, Dr. Garba Abari, noted that the vibrancy of
every democracy was measured by the freedom the media enjoyed.
Abari said the
emergence and activities of new media has thrown up great concerns within the
social space, hence the imperative of reasoning together, to “appreciate the
dangers of conflict insensitive communication and possibly stimulate bloggers
and social media enthusiasts to evolve a Code of Ethics, in order to
self-regulate their practice.”
He also
disclosed that the NOA had, in a bid to stem the dangerous tide, commenced a
process of engaging bloggers and social med The programme has taken place in
four geo-political zones of the country. They are North-Central, North West,
South West and South South.
- Sun News
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