My Bill Does Not Seek To Jail Protesters, Says House Member

A member representing Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal
Constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives, Hon.
Emeka Chinedu, has clarified that his bill which passed the first
reading on Tuesday was twisted and misinterpreted, saying it was
not seeking to jail protesters.

Chinedu in a statement issued Wednesday stressed that he had
been inundated with calls and messages over a misconception that
went viral insisting that it was a clear case of misunderstanding,
misconception and misrepresentation of the facts.

He said, “The caption of the Bill that went viral was never my
intent or opinion, neither was it an embodiment of the Bill I
sponsored that passed the first reading on the floor of the
National Assembly on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, hence, a clear case of
misunderstanding, misconception and misrepresentation of the
facts.”

The lawmaker stressed that as a representative of the people,
whose political ideology is rooted in democratic tenets, he can
never be a party to a system that seeks to stifle or cripple
dissenting voices whose right to freedom of Assembly, expression
and protest was guaranteed by the combined effort of sections 39
and 40 of 1999 Constitution as amended, as well as Article 11 of
the African Charter on Human and People’s Right to freely
Assemble.

Chinedu noted that while he urged Nigerians to imbibe the
culture of reading beyond newspaper caption in order to comprehend
the body of a message, it was however imperative to put the record
straight, in order to douse tension and allay the concerns of his
teeming adherents.

The added: “The Criminal Code Amendment Bill, 2021, did not talk
about criminalising protest or protesters in Nigeria, rather, it is
a Bill that proactively seeks to preserve life and protect the
killing of the innocent through mob action, known as “jungle
justice” in our local parlance.”

The lawmaker explained that his argument as captured in the
coming lead debate was that mob actions were usually triggered
spontaneously by accusations of a bystander, then joined by
another, till it turns to a crowd of vengeful carnage and
destruction on its path.

Chinedu said the danger with mob actions was that participants
typically believe they were punishing an accused for violation of
the law, when in reality they were giving jungle justice to the
accused who may be totally innocent, and had not been given an
opportunity to be fairly heard.

A member representing Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal
Constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives, Hon.
Emeka Chinedu, has clarified that his bill which passed the first
reading on Tuesday was twisted and misinterpreted, saying it was
not seeking to jail protesters.

Chinedu in a statement issued Wednesday stressed that he had
been inundated with calls and messages over a misconception that
went viral insisting that it was a clear case of misunderstanding,
misconception and misrepresentation of the facts.

He said, “The caption of the Bill that went viral was never my
intent or opinion, neither was it an embodiment of the Bill I
sponsored that passed the first reading on the floor of the
National Assembly on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, hence, a clear case of
misunderstanding, misconception and misrepresentation of the
facts.”

The lawmaker stressed that as a representative of the people,
whose political ideology is rooted in democratic tenets, he can
never be a party to a system that seeks to stifle or cripple
dissenting voices whose right to freedom of Assembly, expression
and protest was guaranteed by the combined effort of sections 39
and 40 of 1999 Constitution as amended, as well as Article 11 of
the African Charter on Human and People’s Right to freely
Assemble.

Chinedu noted that while he urged Nigerians to imbibe the
culture of reading beyond newspaper caption in order to comprehend
the body of a message, it was however imperative to put the record
straight, in order to douse tension and allay the concerns of his
teeming adherents.

The added: “The Criminal Code Amendment Bill, 2021, did not talk
about criminalising protest or protesters in Nigeria, rather, it is
a Bill that proactively seeks to preserve life and protect the
killing of the innocent through mob action, known as “jungle
justice” in our local parlance.”

The lawmaker explained that his argument as captured in the
coming lead debate was that mob actions were usually triggered
spontaneously by accusations of a bystander, then joined by
another, till it turns to a crowd of vengeful carnage and
destruction on its path.

Chinedu said the danger with mob actions was that participants
typically believe they were punishing an accused for violation of
the law, when in reality they were giving jungle justice to the
accused who may be totally innocent, and had not been given an
opportunity to be fairly heard.