The Nigerian House of Representatives has pledged to fortify the nation’s libel and slander legislation in order to shield Nigerians’ dignity from baseless attacks on their identity.
At a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, stated that the legislation would not stifle free speech.
In addition to protecting people and institutions from nefarious and baseless attacks, he said the House would make sure that laws were balanced and allowed for constructive criticism.
He further stated that criticism of the President and other high-ranking government officials in particular ought to be constructive, impartial, and devoid of slander and defamation.
“I wish to make it categorically clear that the House has no intention to stifle free speech; instead, our objective is to protect the dignity of individuals and the integrity of public discourse,” he said.
According to him, there has been a surge in social media defamation campaigns that intentionally spread inaccurate and misleading material in an attempt to damage the reputation of people or organizations.
“These campaigns often target political opponents, seeking to undermine their credibility, integrity, and public trust,” he said.
He claimed that unrestrained and unaccountable social media was the cause of the recent attacks on the Chief of Staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Abbas said that such actions weakened the fabric of national unity as well as the nation’s democracy.
