President Muhammadu Buhari’s rejection of the Digital and Rights Bill has been criticized by Media and privacy rights advocates saying that the action of the president portray Nigeria as a country lacking in crucial regulatory framework to protect citizens’ rights on the Internet. President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday 20th March, 2019 sent a veto message to the National Assembly stressing that the bill failed to extensively address the “too many technical subjects” contained in the bill.
President Muhammadu Buhari in vetoing the bill stressed that the bill could prove problematic for current and future legislation around Internet freedom, which he acknowledged had a broadening debate around it. He however advised that the scope of the bill should be limited to the protection of human rights within the digital environment to reduce the challenge of duplication and legislative conflict in the future.
After the president veto message, lawmakers did not immediately say chart a new course of action around the bill, but proponents have vowed to push on until it becomes a federal law. Media and privacy rights experts who played critical roles in drafting and championing of the disputed legislation contended that it essentially would have engendered better protection of citizens’ rights amidst an expanding modern communication.
According to The International Press Centre (IPC) in Lagos, the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to veto the bill was defective as the bill clearly provides for the protection of human rights online.
The IPC Director, Lanre Arogundade, stated that said the bill will protect Internet users from infringement of their fundamental freedoms and guarantee the application of human rights for digital platform users. He also added that, “The bill also seeks to guarantee human rights within the context of emerging innovative technologies, security concerns, increasing citizen participation in governance and democratic processes.” Based on their analysis, The IPC advised President Muhammadu Buhari to revisit the bill and sign it “as it is,” because it holds the potential to “revolutionise the state of digital rights in the country for the better and in a manner comparable to international standards.”
Another Media and privacy rights advocate known as The Institute for Media and Society (IMS), have also added their voice to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider his stance on the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill brought for his assent after its passage by the National Assembly. Concerns around Nigerians’ rights on the Internet have mounted in recent years, amidst rising cases of a government crackdown on citizens’ free speech and intrusion into Internet communication. In their message, they added that since the adoption of the Cybercrime Act in 2015, dozens of Nigerians, including journalists, bloggers and social commentators, have been arrested and their communication controversially intercepted. So it has become necessary to sign the bill to prevent such ugly occurrence.
In expressing their disappointment , the IMS stated that, “We are surprised that the president declined assent to this bill, a comprehensive and timely document which conforms to global trends and standards,” said the Institute for Media and Society (IMS) in a statement. “It is one document which preparation enjoyed the inputs of a wide diversity of stakeholders.”
According to the Executive Director of the IMS, Akin Akingbulu, the organisation found President Muhammadu Buhari’s reasons of vetoing the bill very difficult to understand. He stated that, “It is difficult to agree with the argument that a bill cannot receive presidential signature because it contains subjects addressed in other bills whose journeys in the legislative processing mill are uncertain.”
“The refusal of assent by Mr President will send negative signals to the international community on the government’s attitude to freedom of expression and human rights in general as well as its approach to policy-making on issues which are central to building a democracy.
He concluded by calling the National Assembly and all other stakeholders to support the bill in a statement which reads, “We call on the National Assembly and other stakeholders to remain in support of this bill and engage further with the Presidency so that the bill will return to become law in the near future.”
