Speaker House of Representatives withdraws controversial bill seeking jail term for people who disrespect government officials

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has retraced his step over a controversial bill he sponsored that would have allowed for the jailing of people who embarrass or disrespect government officials.

Penpushing reports that the announcement of withdrawal of the bill which contains other obnoxious provisions such as criminalising the refusal to recite the national anthem, but faced criticism was made known in a post on the official X handle of the House of Representatives

“In response to the voices and concerns of the people, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., has decided to withdraw the Counter Subversion Bill and other related draft legislation’, the post reads.

Penpushing further reports that some of the controversial recommendations of the bill which has passed the first reading in the House, was met with condemnation by larger number of Nigerians, who considered it as irrelevant

“A person who castigates, instigates, persuades, denigrates, embarrasses or brings into disrepute the leadership of a community, religion, lawful group, local government, State or Federal Government of Nigeria, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N4,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of two years or both,” clause 18 of the speaker’s legislation reads.

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