Ven. Ernest Onuoha, Vicar of All Saints Anglican Church, on Sunday, urged the National Assembly to remove the proposed death penalty clause included in the hate speech bill before it.
Onuoha, who made the call at the 2019 General Harvest, in Abuja, at the All Saints Church, Anglican Communion, noted that such law would create more problems and cause many heads to roll.
According to him, life is sacred and every life belonged to God almighty, death penalty is not a solution to hate speech.
”We have other things bothering the nation, people are suffering, roads are bad, people are unemployed and electricity is not working, these should be the focus of the government not hate speech.
”If the people are not disappointed at the government, they will not go out of their way talking the way they are talking.
”The people are speaking out this way because there is an indication of failure to address the problem of the masses.
”Rather than enact death penalty for hate speech, government should make policies and pass Bills that will enhance the quality of life of Nigerians,” he said.
Onuoha, however, urged Nigerians not to lose hope in the country and in the leadership as God was still in charge of Nigeria.
”I believe strongly that God will heal, revive and restore Nigeria back to its glory, so the youths should continue hoping and looking on to God, who in His time will intervene,” he said.
Also, Rev. Yusuf Jafalan, Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Kaduna, said that government should remove the death penalty clause in the hate speech bill because hate speech is directly or indirectly almost in everybody.
Jafalan added that many people would die if that bill is passed, the government must give a dichotomy, else it would do more harm than good.
He also advised the government to think about state policing to address insecurity, adding that the people in every community know those terrorising them.
