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| Nigeria storm over social media bill | Nigeria storm over social media bill |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nigerians have been reacting angrily on social media to a draft bill being discussed in the Senate which aims to "prohibit frivolous petitions". | Nigerians have been reacting angrily on social media to a draft bill being discussed in the Senate which aims to "prohibit frivolous petitions". |
| Tweeters have been using #NoToSocialMediaBill to campaign against the proposal. | Tweeters have been using #NoToSocialMediaBill to campaign against the proposal. |
| It proposes a sentence of up to seven years in prison or $25,000 (£16,000) fine for anyone who intentionally propagates false information. | It proposes a sentence of up to seven years in prison or $25,000 (£16,000) fine for anyone who intentionally propagates false information. |
| Human Rights Watch condemns the move as an attempt to muzzle free speech. | Human Rights Watch condemns the move as an attempt to muzzle free speech. |
| Millions of social media users in Nigeria, as well as those sending text messages, could be affected, it says in a statement. | Millions of social media users in Nigeria, as well as those sending text messages, could be affected, it says in a statement. |
| What the bill proposes | What the bill proposes |
| Activists see the bill as an attempt to target critics of lawmakers and politicians. | Activists see the bill as an attempt to target critics of lawmakers and politicians. |
| The BBC's Nasidi Adamu Yahya in the capital, Abuja, says Nigerian MPs often come under the media spotlight because of the huge money they earn. | The BBC's Nasidi Adamu Yahya in the capital, Abuja, says Nigerian MPs often come under the media spotlight because of the huge money they earn. |
| However, Senator Bala Ibn Na'allah of the governing All Progressive Congress, who sponsored the bill, said the publication of false stories was becoming rampant in the country. | However, Senator Bala Ibn Na'allah of the governing All Progressive Congress, who sponsored the bill, said the publication of false stories was becoming rampant in the country. |
| "You can't write false stories just because it is social media," he told the BBC Hausa service. | "You can't write false stories just because it is social media," he told the BBC Hausa service. |
| The offences the proposed bill seeks to criminalise already exist under Nigerian laws including those on treason, defamation, and libel, our reporter says. | The offences the proposed bill seeks to criminalise already exist under Nigerian laws including those on treason, defamation, and libel, our reporter says. |
| Nigeria has a vibrant civil society who use social media, and it has the largest number of mobile phone users in Africa. |