The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill to amend the Flag and Coats of Arms Act, Cap. F30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to regulate, display and use of national flags.
The bill, was sponsored by lawmaker Sada Soli, was passed during plenary on Wednesday in Abuja.
When passed into law, the bill will increase the number of organisations that can arrest any person for abuse or misuse, and the fines for abuse and misuse of the flag.
It seeks to add members of the Nigeria and Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) or any paramilitary organisations as agencies that can arrest any person for abuse or misuse of the Nigerian flag.
Leading the debate, Soli who called on lawmakers to support the bill also explained that the bill is divided into four sections, and Section 8 seeks to be amended as part of Section 2.
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It proposes to increase the fine for the abuse of the flag from N100 to N100,000 for individuals and N1 million for corporate organisations.
For a persistent offence, the bill suggests a daily fine of N20,000 for an individual and N100,000 for a corporate organisation.
Section 4 of the Act delineates acts of abusing or misusing the flag, including defacing or causing it to become tattered.
He stated: “Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended by adding a new organisation as a Civil Defence Corps officer or any paramilitary organisation that may seize or remove any flag.
“Section 10 increases the fines of the offence from one hundred naira to one hundred thousand naira.
“Mr Speaker, Hon. Colleagues, both individuals and public and corporate organisations, from experience, use the flag to violate the use of our national flag, and we need to curb the excessive abuse of the flag. Hence, it needs to bring on board this amendment.”
The bill was first read on Thursday, November 23, 2023.
