Nigeria NGOs slam civil society bill as grave threat to freedomsABUJA (Reuters) - A bill proposed by Nigerian lawmakers to regulate non-governmental organizations (NGOs) threatens freedoms by handing the government sweeping powers over civil society, an array of groups said on Wednesday. In a public hearing in Nigeria s capital of Abuja, representatives from several NGOs called for the bill to be killed, describing it as  extremely dangerous ,  crippling  for civil society and potentially endangering to life.  For organizations that engage in human rights advocacy, government accountability, and the promotion of democracy, interference in their operations portends grave risks to both their work and on the lives of their personnel,  said Nigerian NGO Spaces for Change in a statement. Nigeria s Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) warned that  there is no doubt that the first victims of the bill would be NGOs that are traditionally active in the area of ensuring accountability and transparency of government to its citizens.  The sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives, Nigeria s lower parliamentary chamber, has alleged that some NGOs were using donated funds to support the activities of armed militants and insurgents such as Boko Haram in the country s northeast, according to Nigerian media reports.  The sponsor, Umar Jibril, has not made public any evidence supporting his allegations. The draft law, which passed a second reading in the lower house of parliament and is being publicly debated ahead of a final reading and vote, would regulate NGOs  funding, activities and foreign affiliation in the name of national security, and have control over NGOs  assets.  The bill would also create an NGO Regulatory Commission, with which civil society bodies would need to register or be in breach of the law.  The commission would have discretion over which groups can register, and all must re-register every two years. At present setting up an NGO is a simpler process, with many groups registering with the corporate affairs commission as a not-for-profit organization.  While the constitution guarantees Nigerians  assembly and association rights, the Freedom House rights watchdog says Nigeria, Africa s most populous democracy, is only partly free. In a 2017 report, Freedom House said the country had a broad and vibrant civil society but government forces continued  to commit gross human rights violations with impunity, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary mass arrests, illegal detentions, and torture of civilians . NGO representatives at the public hearing described how, by giving the regulatory commission discretion to approve projects, lives could be at stake in emergencies, such as when funds are urgently needed for vaccines during an outbreak of disease. Others criticized as vague the bill s repeated justification of maintaining national security, saying it was open to broad interpretations that could give the government ample opportunity for misuse of state power without accountability. An Amnesty International statement said the bill  will keep Nigerians from freely sharing their opinions, holding open discussion forums or organizing people to protest.  worldnews
nigeria nos slam civil society bill grave threat freedomsabuja reuters a bill proposed nigerian lawmakers regulate organizations nos threatens freedoms handing government sweeping powers civil society array groups said wednesday in public hearing nigeria capital abuse representatives several nos called bill killed describing extremely dangerous crippling civil society potentially endangering life for organizations engage human rights advocacy government accountability promotion democracy interference operations ported grave risks work lives personnel said nigerian ngo spaces change statement nigeria policy legal advocacy centre place warned doubt first victims bill would nos traditionally active area ensuring accountability transparency government citizens the sponsor bill house representatives nigeria lower parliamentary chamber alleged nos using donated funds support activities armed militants insurgents book haram country northeast according nigerian media reports the sponsor mar libri made public evidence supporting allegations the draft law passed second reading lower house parliament publicly debated ahead final reading vote would regulate nos funding activities foreign affiliation name national security control nos assets the bill would also create ngo regulatory commission civil society bodies would need register breach law the commission would discretion groups register must every two years at present setting ngo simpler process many groups registering corporate affairs commission organization while constitution guarantees nigerian assembly association rights freedom house rights watchdog says nigeria africa populous democracy partly free in report freedom house said country broad vibrant civil society government forces continued commit gross human rights violations impunity including extrajudicial killings arbitrary mass arrests illegal detention torture civilians ngo representatives public hearing described giving regulatory commission discretion approve projects lives could stake emergencies funds urgently needed vaccines outbreak disease others criticized vague bill repeated justification maintaining national security saying open broad interpretations could give government ample opportunity misuse state power without accountability an amnesty international statement said bill keep nigerian freely sharing opinions holding open discussion forums organizing people protest worldnews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: Nigeria NGOs slam civil society bill as grave threat to freedomsABUJA (Reuters) - A bill proposed by Nigerian lawmakers to regulate non-governmental organizations (NGOs) threatens freedoms by handing the government sweeping powers over civil society, an array of groups said on Wednesday. In a public hearing in Nigeria s capital of Abuja, representatives from several NGOs called for the bill to be killed, describing it as  extremely dangerous ,  crippling  for civil society and potentially endangering to life.  For organizations that engage in human rights advocacy, government accountability, and the promotion of democracy, interference in their operations portends grave risks to both their work and on the lives of their personnel,  said Nigerian NGO Spaces for Change in a statement. Nigeria s Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) warned that  there is no doubt that the first victims of the bill would be NGOs that are traditionally active in the area of ensuring accountability and transparency of government to its citizens.  The sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives, Nigeria s lower parliamentary chamber, has alleged that some NGOs were using donated funds to support the activities of armed militants and insurgents such as Boko Haram in the country s northeast, according to Nigerian media reports.  The sponsor, Umar Jibril, has not made public any evidence supporting his allegations. The draft law, which passed a second reading in the lower house of parliament and is being publicly debated ahead of a final reading and vote, would regulate NGOs  funding, activities and foreign affiliation in the name of national security, and have control over NGOs  assets.  The bill would also create an NGO Regulatory Commission, with which civil society bodies would need to register or be in breach of the law.  The commission would have discretion over which groups can register, and all must re-register every two years. At present setting up an NGO is a simpler process, with many groups registering with the corporate affairs commission as a not-for-profit organization.  While the constitution guarantees Nigerians  assembly and association rights, the Freedom House rights watchdog says Nigeria, Africa s most populous democracy, is only partly free. In a 2017 report, Freedom House said the country had a broad and vibrant civil society but government forces continued  to commit gross human rights violations with impunity, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary mass arrests, illegal detentions, and torture of civilians . NGO representatives at the public hearing described how, by giving the regulatory commission discretion to approve projects, lives could be at stake in emergencies, such as when funds are urgently needed for vaccines during an outbreak of disease. Others criticized as vague the bill s repeated justification of maintaining national security, saying it was open to broad interpretations that could give the government ample opportunity for misuse of state power without accountability. An Amnesty International statement said the bill  will keep Nigerians from freely sharing their opinions, holding open discussion forums or organizing people to protest.  worldnews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: nigeria nos slam civil society bill grave threat freedomsabuja reuters a bill proposed nigerian lawmakers regulate organizations nos threatens freedoms handing government sweeping powers civil society array groups said wednesday in public hearing nigeria capital abuse representatives several nos called bill killed describing extremely dangerous crippling civil society potentially endangering life for organizations engage human rights advocacy government accountability promotion democracy interference operations ported grave risks work lives personnel said nigerian ngo spaces change statement nigeria policy legal advocacy centre place warned doubt first victims bill would nos traditionally active area ensuring accountability transparency government citizens the sponsor bill house representatives nigeria lower parliamentary chamber alleged nos using donated funds support activities armed militants insurgents book haram country northeast according nigerian media reports the sponsor mar libri made public evidence supporting allegations the draft law passed second reading lower house parliament publicly debated ahead final reading vote would regulate nos funding activities foreign affiliation name national security control nos assets the bill would also create ngo regulatory commission civil society bodies would need register breach law the commission would discretion groups register must every two years at present setting ngo simpler process many groups registering corporate affairs commission organization while constitution guarantees nigerian assembly association rights freedom house rights watchdog says nigeria africa populous democracy partly free in report freedom house said country broad vibrant civil society government forces continued commit gross human rights violations impunity including extrajudicial killings arbitrary mass arrests illegal detention torture civilians ngo representatives public hearing described giving regulatory commission discretion approve projects lives could stake emergencies funds urgently needed vaccines outbreak disease others criticized vague bill repeated justification maintaining national security saying open broad interpretations could give government ample opportunity misuse state power without accountability an amnesty international statement said bill keep nigerian freely sharing opinions holding open discussion forums organizing people protest worldnews