The Nigerian Senate passed the Federal Road Safety Corps Amendment Bill, proposing a ₦50,000 fine for anyone caught preaching, trading, or hawking inside commercial transport vehicles. The Bill is purportedly aimed at reducing driver distractions and improve road safety, though it still requires Presidential assent to become law. The Lawmakers stated that the rule aims to limit noisy and physical disruptions in moving vehicles, to protect passenger safety and reduce road accidents. There had also been a call for a law to ban Muslims’ call to prayer through loudspeakers. Does this amount to interference with fundamental rights, such as freedom of thought, religion and expression? Kunle Edun, SAN; Norrison Quakers, SAN and Chris Agbiti, tease out and interrogate the issues in the proposed law
Legal Analysis of Proposed Law/ Restrictions on Religious Expression in Nigeria
Examining (1) preaching in commercial buses and (2) the Muslim call to prayer, with particular reference to fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution (as amended)
Kunle Edun, SAN
Introduction
