On November 27, Nigerians staged peaceful protest nationwide against the bill, which they said violates their fundamental human rights to free speech.
In a statement on Sunday, Abdullahi, who is the sponsor of the bill, said its opponents were only pretending to protect freedom of speech.
He said, “Both Christians and Muslims have said that the media blatantly expresses bias against their religion and that journalists will deliberately not report their story or perspective.
“Outside the immediate communities affected by a specific incident, the general public’s understanding of violent events is often incomplete.
“In some cases, false news about attacks have incited the people to undertake revenge attacks in various parts of the country.”
