The Senate on Wednesday, 3rd December 2015 has passed the Frivolous Petitions (Prohibitions, etc.) Bill, 2015 for second reading after a lead debate by Sen. Bala Ibn Na’Allah, Deputy Senate leader and sponsor of the Bill. Section 1 of the Bill prohibits the submission of any petition or statement intended to report the conduct of a person for the purpose of an investigation, inquiry without a duly sworn affidavit in the High Court or Federal High Court of a State.
Giving the lead debate the Deputy Senate leader stated that the use of frivolous petitions against public officials in the past had led to the sack of some civil servants only for the petition found to be lacking merit after they had been replaced. He also described the objective of the bill as ensuring that only credible and verifiable petitions were presented for public use. This is because the Bill provides for punishment where petitions are used frivolously.
Although the explanatory memorandum like the lead debate of the Bill centres on the fact that the Bill is aimed at prohibiting frivolous petitions, sections 3(2), (3) and (4) of the bill that have been perceived as limiting the freedom of expression through traditional and social media have come under scrutiny by human rights activists, the media and the public. Sections 3(2) 3(3) and 3(4) have been reproduced below:
3(2) “Any person who acts, uses or causes any petition or complaints not accompanied by a duly sworn affidavit shall be deemed to have committed an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to an imprisonment for a term of 2 years or a fine of N200, 000.00 or both”
3(3) “Where any person in order to circumvent this law makes any allegation and or publishes any statement, petition in the paper, radio, or any medium of whatever description, with malicious intent to discredit or set the published against any person or groups of persons, institutions of government, he shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to an imprisonment term of two years or a fine of N400, 000.00.
3(4) “Where any person through texts, messages, tweets, WhatsApp or through any social media post any abusive statement knowing same to be false with intent to set the public against any person and/or group of persons, an institution of Government or such other bodies established by law shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to an imprisonment for 2 years or a fine of N2, 000,000.00 or both such fine and imprisonment”.
The Bill has also been met with wide ranging reactions with many doubtful of the motive and interest of the lawmakers under the guise of “good governance” particularly. This was further intensified after Senator Dino Melaye (APC: Kogi) raised a point of order in the Senate in a separate plenary session drawing attention to certain reports he described as “fabricated” by the social media community and intended to undermine the activities of the Senate. Already, some civil society organisations like the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have sent an urgent appeal to David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right of Freedom of Opinion, entreating him to request that the Nigerian Senate withdraw the Bill as it undermines freedom of expression and press freedom on the internet. There are also fears that the real targets of the Bill are social media bloggers and human rights defenders that criticise the government and not to prohibit the use of frivolous petitions as its title reads.
Also, while an intention to protect the personal integrity of persons in social media or any other form of communication, whether lawmakers or otherwise, is understandable, critics have advocated that the aforementioned sections contravene the spirit and letter of section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and democracy. Section 39(1) guarantees the freedom of expression, including the freedom to impart ideas and information without interference.
While the Bill has been referred to the Senate Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, it is unclear at this stage if a public hearing on the Bill seeking the input of interested stakeholders will be held at a later date.