El-Rufai hints of plans by his govt to make legislation to check fake news, hate speech in Kaduna

El-Rufai said this while meeting with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai has hinted of plans by his government to make legislations that will help check fake news, hate speech in the state.

According to Vanguard, El-Rufai said this while meeting with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The Kaduna state Governor said that the Federal Government cannot fight the war against fake news alone.

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El-Rufai also said that the relevant laws need to be overhauled to enable state governments prosecute those who spread fake news and hate speech.

According to him, state governments and various state High Courts need to be given the jurisdiction to try the cases.

El-Rufai also lauded the Federal Government’s initiative aimed at combating the spread of fake news and hate speech.

He said ‘‘What we need is to give state governments and state high court’s jurisdiction to try these cases because the federal government cannot do it alone. What we are thinking in Kaduna state is to enact our own legislation against fake news and hate speech.

‘‘Right now, we have enough in the Penal Code to try people that do that but we need a stronger framework that will recognise technologies and processes that are used now for more than ever. It is a big problem, particularly in a state like Kaduna where everything, even if you invite 10 people to a launching it acquires ethnic or religious coloration.

‘‘I commend the Council for taking up this serious matter. I strongly recommend that not only the federal government and its agencies should be at the forefront of this war against fake news and hate speech but I think the state governments and state courts should be given broader jurisdiction to respond to this.

 ‘‘We know the dangers of this kinds of careless statements and what is most unfortunate is that the guiltiest people are people that are assumed to be more responsible, the pastors, Imams and important people in the society.

‘‘It is not only the President that was said to be cloned, I was also summoned from Mali, that someone went to Madiki in place Bamako Mali to change my birth place, the day El-Rufai died when he went on exile on 2009.

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‘‘We have a serious problem. Those who are running away from the need to have legislative framework to deal with this subject are putting this country in danger because it is not weapons that kills, it is words that kill. 800,000 people in Rwanda were killed in two weeks because of radio and if we continue to play with this, one day this country will go up in flames.’’

As part of its war on fake news, the Federal Government has called on the media not to offer their platforms to communicate hate among the people.

Source: News