Nigeria, Nov. 12 -- Following the reintroduction at the National Assembly of a bill seeking to sanction hate speech in Nigeria, the Action Democratic Party (ADP) has cautioned the lawmakers against "gagging the freedom of speech of the citizens."

PREMIUM TIMES reported the Hate Speech Bill as on of 12 bills introduced on the floor of the Senate. It is sponsored by the Deputy Chief Whip, Aliyu Abdullahi.

This comes on the heels of the social media regulation plan announced last month by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed.

The ADP, in a statement on Tuesday, said the bill is "anti-democratic" and could plunge Nigeria into despotism if it scales through.

The party said the government should have nothing to fear from the social med...