Bill To Make Protesting Illegal Passes First Reading

The bill was brought before the House of Representatives on Thursday July 1, seeking to jail protesters for five years.

The Bill entitled: ‘An Act to Amend the Criminal Code ACT, CAP 38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 To Further Preserve The Sanctity Of Human Life And Property, And To Provide Specifically For Mob Action, Prescribe Punishment And Other Matters’, is sponsored by Rep. Emeka Chinedu Martins (PDP-Imo).

The Bill has been approved by the House for a second reading.

 The provisions of the proposed Act, are as follows:

 (1) The provisions of the Criminal Code Act, (in this Bill referred to as the “Principal Act”) is amended as set out in this Bill (2) Substitute for section 69 of the Principal Act, a new section 69.

 “Definitions: Unlawful assembly, Riot, Mob action (a) When three or more persons, with intent to carry out some common purpose, assemble in such a manner or, being assembled, conduct themselves in such a manner as to cause persons in the neighbourhood to fear on reasonable grounds that the persons so assembled will tumultuously disturb the peace, or will by such assembly needlessly and without any reasonable occasion provoke other persons tumultuously to disturb the peace, they are an unlawful assembly. It is immaterial that the original assembling was lawful if, being assembled; they conduct themselves with a common purpose in such a manner as aforesaid”.

 It also states that, “An assembly of three or more persons who assemble for the purpose of protecting any house against persons threatening to break and enter the house in order to commit a felony or misdemeanour therein is not an unlawful assembly.

 “(c) When an unlawful assembly has begun to act in so tumultuous a manner as to disturb the peace, the assembly is called a riot, and the persons assembled are said to be riotously assembled.

“(d) When an unlawful assembly becomes violent as to commit unlawful acts against any person or property, the assembly is called a mob”