Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Monday, said the hate speech bill currently before lawmakers would not be passed into law if a majority of Nigerians oppose it.
Mr. Lawan, while addressing journalists in Abuja, said: “the hate speech bill is not going to be passed without the desired public hearing.”
TheNations reported how the bill, proposed by Aliyu Abdullahi, passed the Second Reading at the Senate and was assigned to a committee.
Part of the committee’s work is to conduct a public hearing on the bill.
“If you feel the hate speech bill should not pass,” Mr. Lawan said, get people to attend the public hearing and make your case.
“The preponderance of opinion of Nigerians will determine the way the hate speech bill” will go, he added.
The bill has been criticized by many Nigerians who say it is meant to clamp down on free speech and silence critical voices.
