Activist and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, says Code of Conduct Tribunal Chairman, Danladi Umar, risks a five-year jail term for describing persons he had altercations with recently as “Biafran boys”.
Umar was on Monday caught on video beating up a security guard at Banex Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja.
CCT spokesperson, Ibraheem Al-Hassan later issued a statement explaining that the security guard was rude and prevented the tribunal’s chairman from using a vacant parking space.
Al-Hassan had accused the guard of threatening Umar, while some “Biafran boys” also harassed him.
Al-Hassan later said the CCT chairman asked him to use “Biafran boys” in the statement.
But Falana, in a statement on Saturday, said the use of the phrase constituted xenophobia, which contravenes the cybercrime law.
According to Falana, “The use of the words “BIAFRA boys” in the statement (produced through a computer system or network) on the instructions of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and distributed to the media last week constitutes a contravention of section 26 of the Cybercrimes Act 2015 which prohibits the use of “racist or xenophobic material” in any written or printed material which advocates, promotes or incites hatred, discrimination or violence, against any individual group of individuals, based on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well as religion if used as a pretext for any of these factors.
“The person alleged to have suggested the use of the xenophobic words is liable to be prosecuted for the serious offence. The penalty for the offence is 5 year’s imprisonment and/or a minimum N10 million fine.”