Human Rights Commission Cautions On New Threats Of Hate Speeches, Tracks Purveyors In Social Media

Against the backdrop of incessant hate speeches before, during and after the just concluded 2023 elections, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has engaged into collaborative discussions with Meta Representatives to concretize arrangements of assisting the Commission to track and flag down hate speeches in social media.

The Executive Secretary of NHRC, Chief Tony Ojukwu, who made this disclosure during a month review of the Commission’s MOVE Project, frowned at the increasing hate speeches and its new threats such as incitement and divisive potentials in Nigeria even as the election had been concluded.

The MOVE (Mobilization of Voters for Election) Project was launched before the election and it was aimed at increasing citizen participation and integrating human rights principles into the electoral process.

Chief Ojukwu who explained that the Commission is not taking the issue of hate speeches lightly, said in collaboration with Meta, the authors of hate speeches in Facebook and Twitter especially would be brought to book.

He called for calm and peace for future development of the country while speaking at the monthly review on Monday.

While making an intervention, a visiting Professor of Law, Prof. Udumbana Usungurua, commended the Commission for its efforts in ensuring observation of human rights in the country during the election, adding however, that the Commission should follow up on the judicial proceedings of the Election Petition Tribunals.

While making presentation, the Commission’s Project Coordinator, Hillary Ogbonna, revealed that 450 human rights related incidents occurred during and after the election while 22 hate speeches had been identified.

He explained that human rights breaches and political violence manifested in various forms in all the states of the Federation.

He lamented that the emerging threats now include attack on the Media, intimidation of the judiciary, adding that the possible impacts if not checked, include loss of faith and integrity in the judicial process, incitement leading to more violence and ethnic violence.

Giving further analysis of human rights violations during and after the elections, he cited that Right to peaceful assembly was breached in Kano, Bauchi and Lagos; Right to freedom of association also breached in Kano, Rivers and Lagos; Right to dignity of human persons further violated in Lagos, Kogi, and Nasarawa and Freedom of movement was also violated in Kano and Kaduna through imposition of curfew, among other violations.