The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja against the Federal Government and Nigeria’s 36 state governors. The group accuses authorities of weaponizing the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024 to suppress free speech and violate citizens' human rights, including activists, journalists, and social media users.

In its court filing, SERAP argued that despite amendments to the legislation following a previous ECOWAS judgment in 2022, the revised law continues to criminalize lawful expression under ambiguous and repressive provisions. The organization highlighted section 24(1)(b) as problematic due to its vague language on what constitutes "causing a breakdown of law and order."

“The amended act does not resolve the core issues raised by the court in 2022 when section 24 of the original Cybercrime Act was declared arbitrary and repressive,” SERAP said. “The provisions still leave room for abuse, threatening peaceful expression and curbing media freedom.”

The suit, filed by SERAP’s legal team led by Kolawole Oluwadare, Adelanke Aremo, and Andrew Nwankwo, asserts that Nigerian authorities frequently misuse the law to arrest, detain, and prosecute individuals for expressing critical opinions online.

Recent incidents cited by the group include charges against journalist Agba Jalingo for reporting alleged misconduct involving a former state governor’s relative and activist Dele Farotimi for his critical social media posts. Another case involved Chioma Okoli, who faced legal threats after commenting on a food product's sugar content.

“The broad definition of cyberstalking in the amended legislation, particularly section 58, is overly punitive and invites misuse,” the filing stated. “It criminalizes legitimate expression and intimidates citizens from exercising their right to speak out.”

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