A legal practitioner, Mrs Jennifer Achimuagole-Obia, has urged politicians and their supporters to shun hate speech, cyberbullying, violence and other unlawful acts capable of disrupting peace during the 2027 general election campaigns.
Jennifer made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, on Wednesday.
She advised political actors and their supporters to understand and respect their legal rights and responsibilities throughout the electioneering period.
The lawyer urged politicians and supporters to maintain personal boundaries and avoid actions that could expose them to criminal prosecution.
Jennifer said that freedom of expression did not give anyone the licence to infringe on the rights of others.
“Politicians and their supporters should know their legal rights and operate within the boundaries of the law.
“They must avoid actions capable of creating unnecessary legal problems for themselves,” she said.
The legal practitioner also cautioned against cyberbullying.
She urged political actors to express their opinions responsibly without attacking, threatening or deliberately humiliating their opponents.
“Do not bully people online or offline. Political differences should not become an excuse for harassment, intimidation, threats or the abuse of other people’s rights,” she said.
Jennifer further advised politicians and their supporters to avoid violence, destruction of government property and other acts capable of undermining public order and peaceful democratic participation.
“Those participating in campaigns must understand that violence and destruction of public property are criminal offences with serious consequences.
“Nobody should allow political activities to destroy their future,” she said.
She warned that hate speech, incitement to violence and physical attacks could attract severe legal consequences.
The lawyer urged supporters to think carefully before making inflammatory statements or taking unlawful actions.
“Do not spend the rest of your life in prison because of a careless statement, hate speech, violence or an attack committed in the heat of political campaigns,” Ndubisi said.
The lawyer called on political parties and their candidates to educate their supporters on responsible campaigning and the need to respect the rule of law.
“Campaigns should be conducted politely and responsibly.
“Winning an election is important, but it should never be pursued at the expense of peace, human dignity and the law,” she said.
Jennifer also urged young Nigerians, who constitute a significant part of political campaigns and online activities, to resist being used to spread inflammatory content or participate in acts of violence.
“Before posting, sharing or acting on any political message, young people should ask themselves whether the content or action could put them in legal trouble.
“They should not allow anyone to use them to commit an offence,” she said.
She appealed to political leaders to lead by example by promoting issue-based campaigns and discouraging their supporters from attacking opponents or spreading unverified information.
“Political campaigns should focus on ideas, policies, programmes and the capacity of candidates to deliver good governance, rather than insults, personal attacks and deliberate attempts to provoke violence,” she said.
The legal practitioner said that peaceful campaigns remained essential to the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic process.
Jennifer urged all stakeholders to respect one another and resolve political disagreements through lawful means.
“Democracy gives everyone the right to participate, disagree and campaign, but those rights must be exercised responsibly and within the law,” she said.(NAN)
