By Ozumi Abdul
Centre For Information Technology And Development (CITAD) has called for the passage of digital rights bills.
The call was made on Saturday in Kano state during the commemoration of year’s anniversary of Human Rights Day which is always celebrated 10th December of the year to create awareness and mobilize political will to promote respect for the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.
While speaking, the Kano state Coordinator of Human Rights Commission, Shehu Abdullahi said his organization, the Human Rights Commission considers digital rights as part of the universal human rights in the today’s contemporary digital world, but was however quick to admit that certain legal frameworks have been the bottlenecks of such rights particularly in Nigeria.
Shehu pledged that his organization alongside other civil society organizations have started making moves for the passage of digital rights protection bill.
He noted that his organization has been receiving series of complaints bordering on social media bullying, and infringement of individuals’ privacies where people’s pictures are posted on social media without their consents.
“The main focus of sitting here is to discuss the issue of digital rights, which Human Rights Commission also feels is part of human rights.
” From discussions we had with the participants today you can actually see that digital rights is also part of human rights, but only the issue of certain legal frameworks that have been limiting the exercise of such rights in Nigeria. But we and other civil society organizations are moving for the passage of digital rights protection bill”, he said.
Also speaking was a legal practitioner, Barrister Abdulrahaman Yusuf Muhammad who said the passage of digital rights is long overdue to curb the excesses of human rights abuse and encroachment of individual privacies on the internet particularly the social media.
He noted that in as much the freedom of speech guarantees everyone to speak freely, there are also restrictions and limitations to such rights, adding that one’s rights stops where another person’s own begin.
The 2022 Theme of Human Rights Day is Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All.
