Freedom of speech and it's boundary

• By Abubakar Saddiq Buhari (Buhariofkwara)

Nigeria’s constitution protects the right to freedom of expression and provides that any restriction to this right must be justifiable in a democratic society. However, the sect of the constitution is on daily basis being misconstrued and abused. Some are done unconsciously while some are done in a deliberate attempt to discredit, ridicule and expose the subjects to hatred and mockery.

A Nigerian Musician once said in a lyrics that " There's freedom of speech but freedom after speech is what I can't assure you" what this literally mean is that one should know what to rightly say in the presence of the said Freedom of Speech.

For this reasons, the alarming rate at which Freedom of Speech is misconceived is worrisome and calls for an urgent need for the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to make a rigorous nationwide campaign on the clarity of Freedom of Speech, properly distinguishing the limitations of the contentious part of the Nigerian Constitution. Because any frivolous allegation being made on the personhood of any citizen can be made to be accounted for or proven. As commonly witnessed in every other country guided by laws.

Having considered the misconceptions, it is imperative for citizens to know that any statement that reflects on anyone's reputation and tends to lower them in the estimation of a right-thinking member of the society or tends to make them shun or avoid them can not be protected by freedom of speech, unless the veracity of such a statement is being put to test by a competent court of law.