The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have raised serious concerns about the increasing use of the Cybercrimes Act to suppress dissent in Nigeria.
The groups accused authorities of persistently using Section 24 of the Act to target citizens for exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights to free expression.
At a press briefing in Lagos, representatives of both organisations stated the Cybercrimes Act and other regulatory measures are being weaponised to stifle dissent and criminalise journalism critical of the government.
According to Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director of SERAP, Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act, despite being amended in 2024, the Act remains a tool used to intimidate journalists, bloggers, activists, and ordinary citizens for expressing opinions online.
“We are deeply concerned about the increasing use of legislation to silence dissent. Authorities continue to deploy Section 24 to punish Nigerians for exercising their rights,” Oluwadare said.
He listed intimidation tactics including extrajudicial arrests, malicious prosecutions, enforced disappearances, and unlawful surveillance.
“People have been arrested and charged simply for posts in WhatsApp alumni groups. This is no longer just repression – it’s absurd and dangerous,” he remarked.
Oluwadare criticised the 2024 amendment to the Cybercrimes Act, saying it failed to align with a 2022 ECOWAS Court of Justice ruling, which declared Section 24 vague, arbitrary, and in violation of international human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
NGE General Secretary, Dr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, called for the repeal or revision of the Act’s problematic provisions to reflect both domestic and international human rights standards.
“We urge President Tinubu to ensure that no journalist, blogger, or activist is arrested, detained, or harassed simply for doing their job,” Uwugiaren said.
“The government must show a genuine commitment to the rule of law and press freedom,” he added.
Former Managing Director of The Guardian newspaper, Martins Onoja, also voiced concern that investigative and data-driven journalism in Nigeria is under threat.
“Our journalism is factual, data-driven, and in the public interest. Yet, it is constantly under attack,” Onoja said.
“We’ve even had to mediate in conflict zones just because we reported the truth. In today’s Nigeria, good journalism makes you a target,” he added.
He criticised the government for prioritising infrastructure projects like roads and airports while neglecting the safety of media workers and the state of the education sector.
“It’s a betrayal of the very institutions that uphold democracy,” Onoja said.
Uwugiaren disclosed that the Guild has established a committee of senior editors and media executives to identify laws that currently impede press freedom in Nigeria.
Emmanuel Addeh and Wale Igbintade
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