Responding to the introduction of the Counter Subversion Bill 2024 in the House of Representatives, Isa Sanusi Director Amnesty International Nigeria said:
The misplaced and ill-timed Counter Subversion Bill 2024 sponsored by the Speaker House of Representatives Hon. Tajudeen Abbas must be withdrawn. The bill violates international human rights standards because it will be open to vague and broad interpretations and can be used to impose incredibly harsh punishments simply for criticizing the Nigerian authorities.
In the countries where such legislation is implemented, the law is being used to target political opponents and punish those who peacefully express views which differ from those of the government. The law had always — and everywhere turned out to be a tool of repression. The unclear wording of the bill, the breadth of its application and the absence of any explicit safeguards relating to human rights make the bill – if passed into law – open to interpretation and therefore to mistakes and abuse by officials. The content of the bill promoted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Tajudeen Abbas is at odds with the prevailing norms of a free society.
Corruption — which is increasingly rampant and keeps Nigerians poorer is the ‘subversion’ that the House of Reps. should worry about and pay closer and more concrete attention to. Giving the government more broad powers to punish people who hold dissenting opinions will further undermine human rights. Nigerian authorities are failing to protect the people, as gunmen kill dozens of people frequently in Benue, Zamfara, Katsina and part of Sokoto state. Abduction for ransom is still widespread across Nigeria. Gunmen have prevented farming in some parts of Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara by imposing levies on farmers while punishing those who could not pay with amputation or death.
Amnesty International urges the House of Representatives to focus the legislature in the direction of addressing deep poverty which pushes millions to the brink of starvation. At a time, when millions of Nigerians live at the mercy of unprecedented inflation and struggling to feed – and cannot afford the cost of education and healthcare such a legislation relegates well-being of the people. Legislations must be compliant with domestic and international human rights standards.”