Ebonyi State indigenes are challenging the state’s ‘Cybercrimes Law’ titled “Ebonyi State Cybercrimes (Prohibition) Law 2021 which was purportedly signed by Governor David Nweze Umahi.
On the 27th September, 2021, since it came to public knowledge that such law existed in the state, residents and indigenes alike have stood aggressively against it, and further actions have been taken to contest the law in Nigerian Courts of competent jurisdiction.
Dr Lazarus Ude Eze , an indigene of Mgbom Okposi in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi state , has approached the Abuja Federal High Court to dispute the law. The health expert who hosts a program on Africa Independent Television titiled ‘’Talking Health With Dr Laz’’ said he is all out against the Ebonyi Cybercrime law because it would enable gross suppression of free speech and harassment of innocent citizens including declaring them wanted , and constriction of the civic space.
Ebonyi citizens became privy to the said law when the state’s Commission Of Information came up on the ‘Good Morning Nigeria’ programme on the Nigeria Television Authority to defend why the Governor arrested one Chike Chikwere for expressing an opinion about the state on his facebook handle.
That bill has been likened to the Decree No 4 of 1984 when President Muhammadu Buhari was the Military Head of State. The decree was to punish authors of alleged false statements against the military administration of the day. Nigerian journalists passed through untold agony when they published facts about the then administration .
In 2020, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa representing Niger East Constituency sponsored a bill titled ‘The Protection From Internet Falsehood And Manipulation Bill 2020’’ which generated a lot of outcry from the Nigerian public. Prior to that, a bill to regulate Social Media was first considered in 2015 when the APC took over the helms of government, but similar outcry made law makers put the bill to rest.
The main reason why Nigerians rose to protest against the said bills was because the National Assembly made it public , as constitutionally required. State House Of Assemblies too are supposed to follow same procedure , but Ebonyi Law makers decided to pass the obnoxious bill as quietly as they could to avoid public outcry and eventual rejection.
Presently in Ebonyi, “Any person who knowingly or intentionally sends or circulates a message or other matter by means of computer systems or networks or social media that (a)is grossly offensive, pornographic or of an indeed, obscene, or menacing character or causes any such message or matter to be sent (b) knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill-will or needless anxiety to another or general public commits an offence…and shall be liable on personal conviction to a fine of Three Million Naira (3,000,000) or imprisonment of not less than 5 years or both…”
For all its intentions, this bill may seriously hamper press freedom in the state. The press reserves the right to inform the public about government activities , whether the government likes it or not. The press reserves the right to criticize government activities where necessary and stimulate debate by the people .
“ These criticisms serve as feelers to help politicians in government weigh their service to the masses. Criticism is essential for any budding democracy and it ceases to be a democracy if freedom of expression is stifled in any form.”
