The Urgent Need for Digital Rights Legislation in Nigeria
As Nigeria’s legal system grapples with the rapid evolution of the digital world, there is a growing consensus among lawmakers and digital rights experts that the country’s laws must be updated to reflect modern realities. This call for reform comes as part of an ongoing effort to ensure that citizens’ rights are protected online, minors are safeguarded from harmful content, and national security is balanced with human rights.
At a two-day legislative retreat held in Lagos, experts, civil society actors, and federal legislators convened to discuss the future of digital rights laws. The event, hosted by Paradigm Initiative in partnership with Avocats Sans Frontières France and the Centre for Information Technology and Development, aimed to refine and review the reintroduced Digital Rights and Freedoms Bill before it returns to the National Assembly.
Digital Reality, Analog Laws
Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Senator Shuaibu Afolabi, highlighted the urgent need for Nigeria’s legal framework to catch up with its digital reality. He emphasized that while many of the country’s laws were crafted in an analog era, the digital space demands new protections.
Afolabi pointed out that Nigeria’s youth, who make up a significant portion of the population, are particularly vulnerable to harmful online content. With an average age of 16.9 years, they are more tech-savvy than their parents but lack the necessary safeguards to protect them from inappropriate material.
Building a Digital “Super Highway”
The senator explained that the National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill will lay the foundation for Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, creating a regulatory “super highway.” In contrast, the Digital Rights and Online Protection Bill will serve as traffic rules, governing how citizens operate within this space and ensuring safeguards are in place.
Chairman of the House Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Olajide Adedeji, echoed Afolabi’s concerns, stressing that advancing technology must go hand-in-hand with protecting human rights. He noted that emerging tools like artificial intelligence and blockchain carry risks, including privacy breaches and potential human rights violations.
Updating Laws for the Digital Landscape
The retreat also addressed lessons from past legislative attempts. The original Digital Rights Bill, drafted in 2016, passed both chambers in 2019 but did not secure presidential assent. Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, Gbenga Sesan, said the updated bill reflects technological realities of 2025, including developments in AI, hate speech, and online expression.
Sesan called for the renewal of a comprehensive Digital Rights and Freedom law to secure the rights of its citizens online, stressing that trust in the digital space is central to the $1tn digital economic growth.
Forward-Looking and Rights-Respecting Laws
The Country Director of Avocats Sans Frontières France, Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, added that digital rights laws must be “forward-looking and rights-respecting,” ensuring that technological innovation does not come at the expense of human rights. She urged lawmakers to promote digital empowerment initiatives, particularly for young women, to ensure Nigeria’s youth are innovators, not just consumers of technology.
Collaborative Path Forward
The retreat reflected a shared recognition that technology’s rapid evolution requires equally agile legal protections. Jessica Odudu, spokesperson for the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, noted that the economy cannot thrive without respected rights. Protecting digital rights enhances democratic values and public trust.
Khadijah El-Usman, Senior Officer for Programmes at Paradigm Initiative, highlighted the fragmented nature of Nigeria’s current digital governance. She stressed that as digital challenges grow more complex, this is the right moment for the National Assembly to strengthen protections for all Nigerians.
Understanding the Draft Bill
Media Rights Agenda Executive Director, Edetaen Ojo, introduced senators and members of the House of Representatives to the draft bill. His presentation sought to explain its structure, highlight key provisions, and spark discussions to help lawmakers grasp its objectives before it formally reaches the National Assembly.
Ojo explained that the bill is designed to fill a critical gap in Nigeria’s legal framework by setting out a clear set of digital rights for users that mirror those guaranteed offline but are complicated by the nature of online communication.
Challenges in the Digital World
Ojo acknowledged concerns about Nigeria’s digital literacy levels but stressed that digital rights protections are relevant to all Nigerians who use mobile phones, messaging apps, or video platforms, even those who cannot read or write.
One of the resource persons at the legislative retreat, Julian Ringhof, Policy Officer for Global Aspects of Digital Services at the European Commission, presented to the Nigerian lawmakers the European Union outlined new measures to strengthen the online safety of minors, citing rising global exposure of children to harmful digital content.
A Longstanding Need for Reform
Nigeria’s push for a Digital Rights and Freedom law began nearly a decade ago as human rights organisations, technology experts and lawmakers grew concerned about the widening gap between constitutional rights and the realities of online life. Over the years, several high-profile incidents have underscored the need for reform. Citizens have been arrested for social media posts criticising public officials, while security agencies have been widely accused of conducting unlawful phone searches and accessing private messages without warrants.
The 2021 suspension of Twitter drew global attention to the vulnerability of online platforms in Nigeria, raising fears about censorship and political interference. At the same time, the broad provisions of the Cybercrimes Act have often been used to criminalise what would ordinarily be civil matters, such as defamation or online journalism.
These concerns mirror global conversations about digital rights. International frameworks from the United Nations to the African Union affirm that the rights people enjoy offline must also be protected online. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, already domesticated in Nigeria, guarantees freedom of expression and privacy, while global standards such as the ICCPR and the AU’s Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression outline clear expectations for digital environments.
Many countries have gone on to develop comprehensive digital rights laws, including Brazil, South Africa, Kenya and members of the European Union.
