The Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, has increased the hate speech fine in the country from N500,000 to a whooping sum of N5m.
This was announced through a statement released by the Federal Ministry of Information and Communication, on Tuesday.
According to the statement released, and quoting the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, during the unveiling of the Reviewed Broadcasting Code, the new development followed a Presidential directive on the regulatory role of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and the conduct of various broadcast stations before, during and after elections.
The statement reads in part;
“The law on registration of Web Broadcasting grants the country the opportunity to regulate negative foreign broadcasts that can harm us as a nation. Such harms could be in the area of security, protection for minors, protection of human dignity , economic fraud, privacy etc.
“The provision on responsibility of broadcast stations to devote airtime to national emergencies mandates terrestrial and Pay TV channels to make their services available to Nigerians at time of national emergencies – like the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic – for their education and enlightenment.
“The provision raising the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to N5m.” (Culled from NG news)
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