In Nigeria, the right to free speech is enshrined in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, including the right to hold opinions and disseminate information without interference.
However, this right is not absolute; limitations exist under Section 45, allowing restrictions for reasons such as public safety and morality.
Recent legislative proposals, such as the hate speech bill, threaten to impose severe penalties, including the death penalty for hate speech, raising concerns about censorship and the stifling of dissent.
Note that international standards emphasize that any restrictions must be precise and necessary.
For instance, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) significantly influences freedom of expression in Nigeria by establishing legal standards that the Nigerian government is expected to uphold.
Article 9 of the Charter guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including access to information, which reinforces democratic principles and accountability in governance.
The ACHPR also provides a framework for challenging violations of these rights through its mechanisms, allowing individuals and civil society to seek redress for infringements on free speech.
Furthermore, the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression emphasizes that restrictions must be lawful, necessary, and proportionate, guiding Nigerian legislation and practices in this area.
Sadly, though, the right to free speech which should translate to a freedom of expression has been noticeably diminished in some quarters in recent times.
Recently, Nigerians who voice out their opinions in matters of national and public interest have come under huge criticism, especially when they are not of the ruling All Progressives Congress or when their views seem to reveal lapses of government.
For instance, in his 2025 new year message, a former governor of Anambra state and presidential candidate of the opposition Labour Party in the 2023 General Elections, Mr Peter Obi said that Nigeria needed to step up efforts in critical areas to satisfy the yearnings of her people, describing this as a huge responsibility for government.
He mentioned some of the worsening national challenges to include food insecurity, poor electric power supply, corruption, official malfeasance, fiscal profligacy, a significant rise in national debt, inflation, poverty and electoral malpractices among others.
In what analysts have however described as an unfair twist, the National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Felix Morka, claimed that the former Anambra governor had “crossed the line” in his recent criticism of
President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
An emotional Morka claimed that Obi was desperately seeking to incite Nigerians into bringing down the current government.
The APC spokesman subsequently ended his argument with what has been described as a subtle threat of “he has coming to him whatever he gets.”
In a swift reaction, however, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, warned the APC against intimidating Obi, his family members or close associates, insisting that such a threat should not be allowed to go unaddressed.
The former spokesman of the Obi presidential campaign council also warned against any attempt to arrest his principal, adding that Nigerians would call for the head of the ruling party.
He said, “That is a threat. If they make the move (to arrest Obi), it will boomerang on their government. In a democratic setting, Obi did not in any way impugn anybody’s integrity, nor did he cross any line. We are not making any false
allegations.
“ But if they threaten anybody with some level of impunity, believe me, the Nigerian people will react negatively to them. They must learn to accept it. If they have a counter-allegation to the issues we are raising, they should be provided with facts.
“Obi only spoke to the issue that concerns every Nigerian, which he has a right to. So, what this simply means is that what we have been accusing them of, gagging, arresting and then maiming people to the level of intimidation and impunity, is what they are planning to administer on Nigerians starting from this January just because people have spoken against bad governance”, he said.
Tanko further called on security agents not to allow the APC spokesman’s threat to slide without proper investigation.
He called on the ruling party called to order their mouthpiece and members at large to desist from actions that could heat up the polity and to foster an environment of noble ideas to shape our national discourse and not threats.
“ They must be seen to be tolerant of criticism”, he added.
C- Advocate therefore wishes to inform Nigerians that the right to free speech, with all its limitations as enshrined in Section 45 of the Constitution must be upheld at all costs and by all Nigerians, the leaders and the led alike.
Any attempt to silence the law of a land breeds anarchy and this is one thing that most Nigerians, including the government in power should not be at home with.
