Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has raised concerns over what it calls a disturbing surge in violations of media freedom and civic expression under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The organization particularly pointed to the abuse of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, which it says is being used by law enforcement agencies to intimidate, silence, and punish journalists and government critics.
In a mid-term assessment report on the Tinubu Administration’s first two years in office released today, it said Cybercrime Act was being used by law enforcement agencies to silence or punish journalists and critics of government.
According to the report, titled “The Onslaught Intensifies: A Mid-term Assessment Report on Media Freedom under the Tinubu Administration,” between May 29, 2023, and May 29, 2025, MRA documented 141 incidents of attacks on journalists, media workers, and ordinary citizens for the peaceful expression of their views on a variety of issue, including governance, economic hardship, the security situation in the country, among others.
MRA said of these incidents, 61 cases (43.26 percent) were perpetrated by operatives of the Nigeria Police, while the Department of State Services (DSS) was responsible for seven cases (4.96 percent) with the two agencies collectively accounting for nearly half of all documented violations of media rights and freedom of expression across the country over the last two years.
It argued that the Tinubu Administration bears legal responsibility for all of these incidents, in accordance with Principle 20(5) of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, which holds that States are “liable for the conduct of law enforcement, security, intelligence, military and other personnel which threatens, undermines or violates the safety of journalists and other media practitioners.”
In a Preface to the report, MRA’s Executive Director, Mr. Edetaen Ojo, said: “We are seeing threats to media freedom in Nigeria through the continued implementation of repressive laws, such as the Cybercrime Act which is frequently used to target, silence or punish journalists; the enforcement of politically motivated regulatory sanctions; arrests and detention or other forms of attacks on journalists; surveillance or intimidation of media practitioners; and censorship of government-controlled broadcasters, among others threats and attacks.”
Describing the report as a “timely intervention in a political climate where democratic gains continue to face increasing threats from censorship, regulatory overreach, violence against journalists, and the misuse of digital surveillance technologies,” Mr. Ojo explained that its objective “is not merely to criticize but to document, analyse, and illuminate the extent to which the current administration has either advanced or undermined the freedom of expression landscape in Nigeria.”
MRA said among the most disturbing findings in the report was the continued abuse of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) of 2015, as amended, particularly its controversial Section 24, which law enforcement agencies have exploited to arrest, detain, and prosecute journalists and social media users over critical or dissenting expressions online.
MRA highlighted numerous instances where the Cybercrime Act was used to target individuals, including the arrest of Emmanuel Uti, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ); Destiny Ekhorutomuen, a blogger based in Edo State; four reporters and editors from Informant247 in Kwara State; as well as Dele Farotimi, a lawyer and activist. These individuals were subjected to harsh bail terms or prolonged detention for expressing dissenting views.
The organization noted that the abuse of the Act had reached such an alarming level that it triggered a rare diplomatic response. In June 2025, the ambassadors of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, and Finland in Nigeria jointly condemned the Nigerian government’s misuse of the law and called for immediate reforms to protect freedom of expression.
