A storm of criticism is sweeping through Nigeria’s media and civil rights landscape as the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have launched a scathing attack on the Tinubu administration over the “draconian” use of the Cybercrimes Act to silence dissent.
In a powerful joint declaration delivered on World Press Freedom Day, the two bodies accused federal and state authorities of using the controversial law to criminalise journalism, muzzle free speech, and terrorise critics, calling for the immediate release of all unlawfully detained journalists, bloggers, and activists.
“The Tinubu government is sending a terrifying message: that freedom of expression no longer has a place in Nigeria,” the groups thundered at a packed press conference titled “Unchecked Injustice: How Authorities Are Weaponizing the Cybercrimes Act to Stifle Peaceful Dissent and Media Freedom in Nigeria”, held at Radisson Hotel, Ikeja.
They warned that the Cybercrimes Act—particularly its vague and arbitrary Section 24 on ‘cyberstalking’—has become a blunt weapon for repression, enabling a wave of harassment, illegal detentions, and malicious prosecutions targeting those who dare to speak out.
According to the groups, the recent 2024 amendment of the Act only deepened the danger, leaving loopholes wide open for abuse. Even truthful stories have been labelled “annoying” or “insulting” to justify arrests—an alarming trend that now puts Nigeria in the global spotlight for declining press freedom.
“Authorities are clamping down with brutal precision,” SERAP and NGE stated. “Online articles once ignored are now used as ammunition to arrest journalists. Bloggers vanish. Activists are jailed. This is not governance—it’s tyranny in disguise.”
Citing data from Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House, the groups revealed that: Nigeria has dropped 10 places to 122nd in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
There have been 110 verified attacks on journalists in 2024 alone—a number that already eclipses 2023’s total.
They further referenced a landmark ECOWAS Court judgment from 2022 that declared Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act unlawful, vague, and in violation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights—yet the Tinubu administration has failed to comply with the ruling.
“President Tinubu must act now—amend or repeal these laws, obey court orders, and rein in rogue agencies that treat criticism as crime,” the groups demanded, calling on the President, Attorney General, National Assembly, and state governors to uphold the Constitution and Nigeria’s international obligations.
The fiery conference, attended by media heavyweights including Richard Akinnola, Eze Anaba (NGE President), Martins Oloja (former Editor-in-Chief, The Guardian), and senior editors from Channels TV, Daily Trust, The Guardian, Silverbird TV, The Sun, and others, sent a defiant signal to authorities.
“We will not be silenced,” they declared. “Journalism is not a crime. Telling the truth is not terrorism. Dissent is not cyberstalking.”
