DELIMITING THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND HATE SPEECH: ROADMAP TO NATIONAL COHESION

Abstract

The right to freedom of expression is one of the fundamental rights recognised universally and internationally and protected by the Constitution of most countries of the world, including Nigeria.1 It is crucial to note that the right has expressly been provided for in the Constitution of most countries because of its importance and relevance to liberty and democracy. Like other rights provided in the Constitution, the right to freedom of expression is not a blanket right. In other words, it has its limitations. For example, one cannot, acting under the right to freedom of expression, malign the character of another person or make defamatory remarks of the person. The law is crystallised that any person who feels that someone has defamed their character or malign their person has the right to go to court and claim damages against such person. Lately, the phenomenon of hate speech has become a recurring decimal in Nigeria. This phenomenon has notably brought to fore with recent developments in the polity with various regional groups clamouring geo-political interests in acerbic words. Such words and communications have inevitably helped to pull the fabrics that hold the nation to its seams. Using doctrinal research methodology, the authors herein consider the concepts of freedom of expression and hate speech, delimit the boundaries between the duo, x-ray the limitations of right to freedom of expression and examine the legal framework of freedom of expression and hate speech. The implications of hate speech on national cohesion also form part of the focal point of this paper. The paper gives recommendations on how hate speech can be curbed for the furtherance of national cohesion in Nigeria.