Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Friday commended the federal government for its decisions to append hate speeches into the 2011 Terrorism Act.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday at the National Executive Committee Meeting (NEC) had charged leaders to speak up in order not to witness a genocide like in Nazi, Germany and Rwanda.
He also seized the occasion to warn that hate speech will be treated as an act of terrorism.
Backing the step taken by Osinbajo, the former vice president via his Twitter handle said, “It is commendable that FG has classified hate speech as an act of terrorism in line with the Terrorism Act 2011.
“For emphasis, the recent hate declarations from various groups in our country against citizens shows that hate speech is not far from us.
“We’ve seen in Nigeria and other countries how hate speech has led to violent crimes. We cannot sit and wait for situations to get worse.
“Even more important than criminalising hate speech, we must go back to reconciliation and growing our country in love,” he tweeted.
