When Hon. Emeka Chinedu Martins, member of the House of Representatives representing Ahiazu-Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency of Imo State, introduced a bill seeking to punish those who engage in mob action, he never envisaged that its intent will be grossly misrepresented to mean a bill seeking to jail protesters.
The wrong interpretation attracted the angst of civil society groups. In this exclusive interview with TheNiche, he tells IKECHUKWU AMAECHI the exact intent of the bill. He also disclosed his plans to withdraw the controversial bill on Tuesday, July 13, owing to the advice of his constituents and other stakeholders.
Your bill entitled, “An Act to amend the Criminal Code Act, CAP 38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to further preserve the sanctity of human life and property, and to provide specifically for mob action, prescribe punishment and other matters,” is generating a lot of controversy. It has been characterized in some quarters as a bill seeking to jail unlawful protesters. What exactly is the bill all about?
I moved a bill on July 6, 2021 seeking to amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The objective of my bill is to stop the killing of innocent people through mob action. But I was shocked that it was misrepresented. Some people are now saying that it was meant to jail protesters for a period of five years.
In the first place, I am a democrat and I can never be a party to such a bill which intent is to criminalise protest, not to talk of moving the bill myself. Protest is one of the tools which is used by an individual or a group of people to drive home a legitimate point of view and to fight against injustice. Protest is legitimate. It is legal. It is constitutional. It is a fundamental human right and there is absolutely nothing criminal about it. Every citizen has the right to protest.
So, I cannot move a bill which is against the people because I am not anti-people. I am a man of the people. I am a product of the masses. I was able to get to where I am today as a member of the House of Representatives through the votes cast for me by my people. So, I cannot be a product of the collective will and aspiration of my people and still be against them. I cannot be for and against the people at the same time.
More so, I am the owner of this bill. I moved the bill on the floor of the House. And you are hearing, to borrow a cliché, from the horse’s mouth, the intention of my bill, which is to stop the killing of innocent people through mob action.
If the intention of the Bill is to jail protesters for five years, I will stand by it. If you move a Bill, you are duty bound to stand by it. I cannot move a Bill and some people want me to accept what I didn’t intend in the Bill.
So, I moved this Bill and I am stating categorically that the intent was misrepresented and misinterpreted.
The objective of my Bill is to stop the killing of innocent people through mob action. A lot of people have died through mob action. For instance you remember the notorious case of the Aluu Four in 2012 involving four male students from the University of Port Harcourt who went to recover a debt but were set up and accused of theft leading to their gruesome murder by a mob in Aluu, Rivers State.
More recently in 2016, a man accused of homosexuality was beaten to death in Ondo State. Another man was also lynched in Ebonyi State over accusations of theft of motorcycle.
All these cases were cited in the Bill. Are these instances of protests? My Bill was intended to mitigate those actions in the future. I cannot be involved with any Bill aimed at jailing protesters.
So, where did the mix-up come from – just innocent misinterpretation of your intention or sheer political mischief?
You know politics is around the corner. I think what happened was misinterpretation of the Bill. The day I moved the Bill on the floor of the House, other media houses accurately reported it the way I moved it, which is, the Bill is to protect the sanctity of life.
But I was surprised that some mischief makers misinterpreted the Bill saying that it was a Bill to jail protesters for a period of five years. I still insist that that was neither the intent of the Bill nor was that reflected in any way in the wordings.
Even the following day, I had to go on the floor of the House under Order 8 Rule 5, which gives you the right to make explanations to explain to my colleagues and Nigerians my intention – that it was misrepresented.
And I did state there categorically that my Bill was not to jail protesters for a period of five years. My Bill seeks to cure the malaise of killing innocent people through mob action.
And I was also happy and impressed that Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila charged journalists to try and report matters the way they are and asked Vanguard newspapers that orchestrated the misrepresentation to correct themselves and report the matter accurately. The Speaker went further to say that in my presentation I never mentioned jailing protesters for five years.
So, I think that cleared the air and vindicated me.
But there is also the issue of timing. Some people contend that coming at a time there are about five subsisting anti-press Bills in the National Assembly and the government is doing everything to criminalise protests no matter how peaceful, your Bill was wrongly timed. Nigerians fear that when passed into law, government may hide under it to move against protesters. In any case, who defines a mob in the context of the Bill?
People are taking it that way because the Bill was twisted. If the Bill was reported the way I moved it, there wouldn’t have been any issues because people would have understood it.
My Bill proposes that those who indulge in mob action should pay dearly for it because murder is a constitutional matter. It is already in the Constitution. But it is not strengthened and that is why I decided to provide a new section of the law by bringing in this amendment so that if you are involved in a mob action where you kill innocent people, you have to be prosecuted and pay dearly for your crime.
You don’t just wake up in the morning and tag somebody a witch, for instance, and incite a mob to murder the person in cold blood without taking the matter to court. It is only the court that has the Constitutional mandate to make such pronouncements and punish according to the laws of the land. Jungle justice is not part of our grundnorm. We must stop jungle justice in Nigeria. My Bill aims at eliminating that.
So, the only reason why the Bill is generating so much controversy is because it was misrepresented. I have been getting a lot of calls from people telling me that after reading the Bill and my clarifications, they now understand where I was coming from. Many people who are up in arms have not cared to read the Bill. They simply ran off with the questionable headline of Vanguard newspaper which says that “Reps bill threatens five-year jail term for ‘unlawful protesters.”
But I am the mover of the Bill and I know what I moved. And I am telling you categorically that my Bill is to stop the killing of innocent people through mob action not to jail protesters for a period of five years.
Considering the uproar, would you consider withdrawing the Bill in order to calm frayed nerves?
Yes, I have consulted with my constituents and other stakeholders and I have been advised to withdraw the Bill and I am going to do that because it has been misconstrued.
So, for the sake of peace, I have decided to withdraw the Bill on the floor of the House on Tuesday. I don’t want this needless controversy to linger. The Bill was misconstrued, it was misrepresented and misinterpreted to mean a different thing from what its intent is. Therefore, I am going to withdraw it on Tuesday.
What lesson has this unfortunate saga taught you as a lawmaker?
The saga has strengthened me. This is politics and in politics you get all sorts. So, if you are a politician, all manner of allegations are made against you, most times wrongfully. This is one of them but the most important thing is your conscience. If your conscience is clear and your motive is pure, you move on. I am happy that my people stand with me. They know the intent of this Bill, they are behind me and have told me to be strong and I am strong.
I am not in any way perturbed. I am still with my people and I have taken their advice and I will go ahead to withdraw the Bill on the floor of the House on Tuesday.
The wrong impression which the misinterpretation created, as unfortunate as it is, will not in any way deter me from doing my legislative work.
