Global Research Fellow of
International Center for Not for profit Law (ICNL), Washington DC, Solomon
Okedara has
asked the Federal High Court, Lagos to declare Section 375 of the
Criminal Code Act, 2004 null and void.
Okedara, who filed the suit,
stated that the section, which provides for the offence of criminal defamation,
is unconstitutional.He stressed that criminal defamation creates an
interference on freedom of expression, noting that the existence of this
offence is not only cancerous to democracy but specifically discourages the
publication or expression of the truth about the acts of governments, their
officials and some other bigwigs in the society.
Okedara in his affidavit deposed
that the existence of criminal defamation is antithetical to democratic ideals
in any democratic society anywhere in the world.
According to him, that is why the
United Kingdom, Ghana, Mexico, Jamaica, Norway, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Georgia,
Montenegro, Antigua and Barbuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, New Zealand
among others have abolished criminal defamation and several other countries are
working hard to abolish same.
According to the applicant,
unless the reliefs sought in the suit action are granted, his fundamental right
to freedom of expression stands a risk of infringement and that of many other
Nigerians would be perpetually infringed upon.
READ MORE ON:
No comments:
Post a Comment