The Nigerian Bar Association has withdrawn its invitation to Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to speak at the association’s annual general conference.
On August 7, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, appeared on a live TV show where he announced the hike in the N500,000 fine for “hate speech” in the amended National Broadcasting Commission Code by 450 per cent. According to Mohammed, the increase was to stem the flagrant violation of the code because the fine was “very easy to pay.” Faced with the dilemma of people violating a code that already comes with a hefty fine, the solution should not be more fines. They should question if the problem at hand is even resolvable by such punishment. How much is a radio station licence that a mere fine should strangle the business?
