Osinbajo-Anti-religious bill unlawful
Tue Jun 21, 2016 09:41:am National
1.8K By sosa hills
The Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has said any attempt to restrict freedom of worship would amount to unlawful conduct. Osinbajo declared that prior restraint to religious worship in the country was open to abuse.
The Vice-President stated this on Monday at the first National Judicial Roundtable in Abuja.
Osinbajo, who spoke as Special Guest of Honour at the maiden event at the National Judicial Institute in Abuja, noted that the freedom of speech and worship were closely linked and inseparable.
He delivered his address on the theme of the one day conference tagged: The Intersection between Law and Religion: World Perspectives'.
"I am of the view that prior restraint to freedom of worship is open to abuse and will unduly restrict freedom of worship and it's probably unconstitutional. Freedom of speech is not only a fundamental right in its own right but it is also the vehicle for the realisation of other rights."
The VP addressed a gathering of top judicial officers, academics and religious leaders as well as international dignitaries who converged on Abuja from all over the country.
Osinbajo, however, pointed out that multi-religious and multi-ethnic societies must accept the arbitration of law and its religiously neutral institutions for the maintenance of peaceful co-existence.
"A secular state where freedom of religion is allowed and rigorously protected is fundamental to an orderly society.
"Law and religion must protect the fundamental and inalienable rights of every person to life in all its social and political implications.
The laws must, however, be enforced to punish offensive conducts such as the dissemination of hate speech or the perpetration of unlawful acts under the guise of religious beliefs", Osinbajo declared.
The Vice-President who is a professor of Law and a Pastor, "There is no question at all that there are important intersections between Law as an instrument of social control and religion, especially in so far as it tends to define moral parameters and borders.
He submitted that most legal systems draw substance from formal religious systems, adding that despite these obvious intersections between law and religion, both systems have their own sources and structures of authority.
The Vice-President stated this on Monday at the first National Judicial Roundtable in Abuja.
Osinbajo, who spoke as Special Guest of Honour at the maiden event at the National Judicial Institute in Abuja, noted that the freedom of speech and worship were closely linked and inseparable.
He delivered his address on the theme of the one day conference tagged: The Intersection between Law and Religion: World Perspectives'.
"I am of the view that prior restraint to freedom of worship is open to abuse and will unduly restrict freedom of worship and it's probably unconstitutional. Freedom of speech is not only a fundamental right in its own right but it is also the vehicle for the realisation of other rights."
The VP addressed a gathering of top judicial officers, academics and religious leaders as well as international dignitaries who converged on Abuja from all over the country.
Osinbajo, however, pointed out that multi-religious and multi-ethnic societies must accept the arbitration of law and its religiously neutral institutions for the maintenance of peaceful co-existence.
"A secular state where freedom of religion is allowed and rigorously protected is fundamental to an orderly society.
"Law and religion must protect the fundamental and inalienable rights of every person to life in all its social and political implications.
The laws must, however, be enforced to punish offensive conducts such as the dissemination of hate speech or the perpetration of unlawful acts under the guise of religious beliefs", Osinbajo declared.
The Vice-President who is a professor of Law and a Pastor, "There is no question at all that there are important intersections between Law as an instrument of social control and religion, especially in so far as it tends to define moral parameters and borders.
He submitted that most legal systems draw substance from formal religious systems, adding that despite these obvious intersections between law and religion, both systems have their own sources and structures of authority.
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