The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have jointly condemned the growing use of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act to stifle free speech and silence critical voices.
At a press conference held in Lagos, the two organisations accused authorities of routinely misusing Section 24 of the Act to harass citizens, journalists, bloggers, and activists for expressing their views, especially on digital platforms.
SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, expressed concern that despite a 2024 amendment, Section 24 remains a tool of repression. “We are deeply troubled by the increasing use of legislation to silence dissent,” he said. “People are being arrested and charged for harmless posts—even within private WhatsApp alumni groups. This is no longer just repression; it’s absurd and dangerous.”
Oluwadare highlighted a pattern of intimidation that includes extrajudicial arrests, malicious prosecutions, unlawful surveillance, and enforced disappearances. He criticised the 2024 revision of the Act, noting it failed to comply with a 2022 ECOWAS Court of Justice ruling, which declared Section 24 vague, arbitrary, and inconsistent with international human rights obligations, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Supporting the call for reform, NGE General Secretary Dr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to ensure that no journalist, blogger, or activist is targeted for doing their job. “The government must demonstrate its commitment to press freedom and the rule of law,” he said.
Former Managing Director of The Guardian, Martins Oloja, also raised concerns about the erosion of press freedom in Nigeria, saying investigative and data-driven journalism is increasingly under threat. “We report facts and serve the public interest, yet we face hostility. In today’s Nigeria, good journalism makes you a target,” he stated.
Oloja criticised the government for prioritising infrastructure projects such as roads and airports while failing to ensure the safety of journalists and address the crisis in the education sector. “It’s a betrayal of the institutions that sustain democracy,” he said.
Uwugiaren further revealed that the Guild has set up a committee made up of senior editors and media executives to identify and review laws that hinder press freedom in Nigeria.
Nzubechukwu Eze.
