* ’We’ll expunge death penalty’

THE death penalty clause in the National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speech (Establishment) Bill 2019 will be expunged, Senate Deputy Chief Whip Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi has said.

Abdullahi, who is also the sponsor of the Bill, was among eminent citizens of Niger State who visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House yesterday in Abuja.

Addressing State House Correspondents after the meeting with the President, the senator said discussions were being held on the Bill.

He said a decision had been made to remove the contentious death penalty clause.

Abdullahi insisted that despite the outcry over the Bill, he would continue to call for its passage as there was no need to “throw away the baby with the bath water”.

He added: “I think what I want to say first and foremost is that because the baby is dirty or the water is dirty should not lead to a situation where we throw away the baby and the bad water.

“I believe the Hate Speech Bill, which I am sponsoring, is the most contentious issue that drew people’s concern. It was the death penalty and I recall vividly at that particular instance I issued a statement that as a sponsor of the Bill at the appropriate time, I would ensure that the death penalty is put away such that no matter what the punitive measure is, we can all agree on what it should be.

“But whether or not we desire a Hate Speech Bill, my answer is capital yes. And my reasons are not far-fetched. That particular Bill is designed to address at least something that is fundamental and has been going on for the past 40 to 50 years in this country.

“And it is assuming a new dimension that if we don’t control it, we don’t want to have something like what happened in Rwanda, for example. I think the essence of the Bill is to prevent discrimination such that it leads to hostility and even deaths, in some instances, as it has happened,” he said.