The former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, Friday, extolled the Nigeria federal government for its decisions to append hate speeches into the 2011 Terrorism Act.
Recall that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Thursday, charged leaders to speak up saying that it was such silence that promoted the genocide in Nazi Germany and Rwanda.
In the words of Osinbajo, “FG has today drawn the line on hate speech. Hate speech is a specie of terrorism.
“The Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 as amended defines terrorism as an act which deliberately done with malice which may seriously harm a country or is intended or can be reasonably be regarded as having been done to seriously intimidate a population.
“Silence in such situations can only be seen as an endorsement. Hate speech & the promotion of the same through history from Nazi Germany & the extermination of Jews to the Rwandan genocide succeeded in achieving their barbarous ends by the silence of influential voices.
“The silence of leaders at this time – in our country- will be a grave disservice to our country, its peace & its future.”
Supporting the laudable position of the federal government, Atiku Abubakar, via series of tweets said, “It is commendable that FG has classified hate speech as an act of terrorism in line with the Terrorism Act 2011.
“For emphasis, the recent hate declarations from various groups in our country against citizens shows that hate speech is not far from us.
“We’ve seen in Nigeria and other countries how hate speech has led to violent crimes. We cannot sit and wait for situations to get worse.
“Even more important than criminalising hate speech, we must go back to reconciliation and growing our country in love,” he finally said.
