AN appeal has gone to President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the heartless killing of Mrs Acheju Abuh is not allowed to go unpunished.
The Coordinator, Countering Hate Speech Project, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Mallam Hamza Ibrahim made the appealed on Thursday in Lokoja while addressing newsmen on the recent elections held in Kogi State.
His words, “While we commend his directive on the matter, we want to in the interest of future sustainable and peaceful electoral conduct and by extension democratic governance in Nigeria, want him to ensure that her killers are brought to book and acts of that nature on anyone are mitigated.
“Barr. Natasha Akpoti’s attack before the election and Mrs Abuh’s murder have justified the experience Nigerian women politicians face as a result of their involvement in political process.
“We have recently conducted research around hindrance and challenges of women involved in political and governance processes in Nigeria, and intimidation, harassment, assault, and use of thugs to frighten and disperse them were some of the findings of the research.
He equally draw the attention of the entire people of Kogi to the dangers and consequences of hate speech and therefore urged that they give neither engage in or accommodate hate speech on social media platforms or at community gatherings.
“We want to equally draw the attention of the peace accord initiators in Kogi state to the post election hate speech being circulated on social media and swiftly engage actors from all political parties on that,” he said.
The coordinator therefore appealed to Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and Engr. Musa Wada as well as their party chairpersons to strongly caution their followers against hate speech particularly in the pages or groups they manage on their principals’ behalf.
He also urged social media users in the state to sanitize their posts and remarks and avoid engaging in hate speech and also advise that Twitter and Facebook users report instances of hate speech to the platforms.
“We enjoin entire people of Kogi to be peace-loving, shun making or negatively reacting to hateful remarks no matter the provocation. It is equally our call to everyone in the state to value and practice tolerance in all their conducts.We urge community and traditional leaders in the state to support our campaign against hate speech and violence against women by cautioning and enlightening their followers on the dangers of engaging in the two acts,” he appealed.
