Government officials, security agencies, and influential public figures are increasingly exploiting legal loopholes, including the Cybercrimes Act and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), to intimidate journalists, activists, and civil society organisations across Nigeria, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) warned on Wednesday.
Government authorities have relied on Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act and SLAPPs to intimidate critics and restrict civic space, a pattern SERAP and NGE described as “entirely inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.”
The body has called for the immediate release of all individuals detained solely for exercising their rights to free expression and peaceful assembly, and urged authorities to withdraw what they described as baseless charges currently pending against journalists and activists nationwide.
They noted that criminal defamation and cybercrime-related prosecutions were generating fear within the media space, restricting the free flow of information and discouraging public accountability.
According to the groups, a legal challenge is currently before the ECOWAS Court contesting the 2024 amendment to the Cybercrimes Act, particularly Section 24 on cyberstalking, which they argued had become a tool for silencing online expression.
They called on law enforcement agencies to suspend the use of the amended law pending the court’s ruling.
The groups also cited recent data highlighting a sharp rise in attacks on journalists. Reporters Without Borders ranks Nigeria 122nd in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, a drop of 10 places from the previous year.
SERAP and NGE called on President Bola Tinubu, state governors, lawmakers, the police, and the SSS to immediately release individuals detained solely for exercising their rights.
They urged the authorities to withdraw SLAPP suits and politically motivated charges, review the Cybercrimes Act along with other restrictive laws, protect journalists and human rights defenders, and respect court judgements and constitutional freedoms.
The groups also appealed to the international community to hold Nigerian authorities accountable for violations of rights.
Earlier, in his opening remark, Mr Oluwadare, SERAP’s Deputy Director, warned that Nigeria’s civic space is under “escalating restrictions,” citing arbitrary arrests, digital surveillance, abductions, website blocking, and the rising use of SLAPPs to intimidate journalists and civil society actors.
