The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Nigerian Federal Government and state governments to drop criminal charges against activists, journalists, rights defenders, and others who are on trial solely for peacefully exercising their human and democratic rights.
This call was part of the recommendations in SERAP’s latest report, titled ‘Broken Promises: Systematic Crackdown on Civic Space, Democratic Rights, and Media Freedom in Nigeria,’ released on July 3, 2024, in Abuja.
The report assesses citizens’ participation in the democratic process and the protection of dissent in Nigeria. Among its key recommendations, SERAP demands an end to the systematic crackdown on civic space, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, media freedom, political participation, and other democratic rights. The organization also calls for the immediate release of individuals arbitrarily detained for peacefully exercising their rights.
SERAP further highlights the misuse of the Cybercrime Act to target and arbitrarily arrest critics, journalists, activists, and human rights defenders, urging the government to stop these practices. The organization also calls for prompt reforms to the Electoral Act to align with constitutional and international human rights standards, ensuring effective realization of Nigerians’ right to political participation.
The report emphasizes the need for genuine independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and other regulatory bodies overseeing civic space and media freedom. It stresses the importance of conducting fair and impartial elections and allowing both national and international observers, human rights monitors, and journalists to access all parts of the country.
SERAP also urges the government to ensure that security agencies act neutrally and non-partisanly during electoral campaigns, elections, and political activities. It calls for thorough, impartial, and transparent investigations into human rights violations and demands that perpetrators be brought to justice in fair trials while victims are provided with access to justice and remedies.
Additionally, the report insists that the government must comply with court orders, including a Federal High Court judgment requiring the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari to account for the expenditure of a $460 million Chinese loan for the failed Abuja Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) project. The government is also urged to ensure access to public information and timely responses from ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
Survey respondents, including activists, government officials, community leaders, and ordinary citizens, reported negative consequences for dissenting against government actions. These consequences included movement restrictions, building demolitions, denial of access to government facilities, arrest, incarceration, social media access restrictions, court convictions, and fines.
SERAP emphasises the constitutional right to participate in the democratic process and express dissent, noting widespread exclusion from the democratic process and suppression of dissent in Nigeria. The report reveals that a significant majority of Nigerians are dissatisfied with the democratic process, with 72.31% believing their views do not influence government policies, and 79.95% feeling that the government does not act for the people’s benefit.
To ensure the implementation of its recommendations, SERAP calls on the United Nations, African Union, Economic Community of West African States, and the international community to pressure the Nigerian government to end the systematic crackdown on democratic rights.
The organisation also urges the international community to condemn restrictions on democratic rights and link enhanced bilateral cooperation with Nigeria to clear human and democratic rights benchmarks, including promoting freedom of expression and association, media freedom, and the release of those arbitrarily detained for peaceful protests.
