SERAP Drags Tinubu Govt, Governors To ECOWAS Court

SERAP has taken legal action against President Bola Tinubu’s government and Nigeria’s 36 governors at the ECOWAS Court over the use of the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024.

The suit challenges the criminalization of legitimate expression under the amended Act, which SERAP argues violates the human rights of Nigerians, including journalists, activists, bloggers, and social media users.

This legal challenge is based on provisions in the Act that could be used to repress free speech, particularly the vague and arbitrary definitions in Section 24 regarding “cyberstalking” and “causing a breakdown of law and order.”

SERAP highlights the abuse of these provisions by Nigerian authorities to intimidate, arrest, and prosecute individuals for peaceful expression, even when their reports are factual.

SERAP said, “The provisions of the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024 have opened the door to criminalizing legitimate expression and punishing activists, journalists, bloggers and social media users.

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“What constitutes ‘causing a breakdown of law and order’ in section 24(1)(b) of the amended legislation is unclear and undefined, threatening to punish peaceful and legitimate expression and opening the provisions up to abuse.

“Rather than using the amended legislation to make cyberspace and its users safer, Nigerian authorities are routinely weaponizing it to curb Nigerians’ human rights and media freedom,” SERAP said.

SERAP argues that the Cybercrime (Amendment) Act 2024, ‘in addition to its arbitrary, vague and repressive section 24 provisions, broadly defines ‘cyberstalking’ in section 58 as ‘a course of conduct, directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel Air Jordan 3 Retro: "Infrared 23" – Air Jordans, Release Dates & More – Cheap Cra-wallonie Jordan Outlet , Jordan Son of Mars Low Tour Yellow Arriving at Retailers fear'”.

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Mrs Adelanke Aremo, and Andrew Nwankwo, read in part, “The amended legislation is abused to threaten and stifle people’s human rights and livelihoods.

“The vague, arbitrary, and repressive provisions on ‘cyberstalking’ in section 24 of the Cybercrime (Amendment) Act 2024 are routinely abused to suppress factual reports by activists, journalists, bloggers and social media users, thereby leaving a chilling effect on human rights and media freedom.

“Nigerian authorities not only have a negative obligation to abstain from unduly Luxury Online Shop | High-End Designer Fashion Store Shopping interfering with human rights and media freedom but also have a positive obligation to facilitate and protect these rights.

“It said, ‘Since the amendment of the Cybercrime Act in 2024, Nigerian authorities at all levels have consistently used the provisions of the Cybercrime Act to harass, intimidate, arbitrarily arrest and detain and unfairly prosecute users of social media, activists, journalists, and bloggers solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights.

“Stories published online have been deemed ‘offensive’, ‘obstructive’, ‘insulting’ or ‘annoying’ with actionable consequences under provisions of section 24 of the Cybercrime (Amendment) Act 2024 even when the stories are true and factual.

“According to the 2023 and 2024 Freedom House Reports on Nigeria, internet freedom of expression declined due to an unprecedented pattern of arbitrary arrests and detention of bloggers after the enactment of the Cybercrime (Amendment) Act 2024.

“There are several reports on the recent abusive use of the arbitrary, vague and repressive provisions of section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024.

“For example, the police filed ‘cybercrime charges’ against activist Dele Farotimi under the arbitrary, vague and repressive provisions of the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024.

“Journalist Agba Jalingo of the Cross River Watch Newspaper was charged with ‘cyberstalking’ over a report that a relative of a former governor of Cross River State had engaged someone air jordan 4 military blue 2024 to sit for law exams on her behalf.

“Chioma Okoli was arrested following her comment on Facebook complaining about the sugar content of Nagiko tomato mix. Funke Adeoye was also reportedly summoned by the police for alleged cyberbullying due to a statement she shared on her X account.

“The Nigeria police also reportedly re-arraigned four bloggers on fresh charges of alleged cyberstalking. The police also arrested ‘a famous singer’ for alleged cyberstalking and harassing Benin Crown Prince.’

“The provisions of the amended legislation are inconsistent with international human rights law, which requires any regulation of freedom of expression to be necessary for a legitimate purpose and to be strictly proportionate to that end,” SERAP said.

SERAP is therefore asking the ECOWAS Court of Justice for the following reliefs: “A declaration that the provisions of section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention, ETC) (Amendment) Act 2024 are unlawful, inconsistent and incompatible with Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“A declaration that the actions of the Defendant and its law enforcement agencies in arbitrarily applying and enforcing section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) (Amendment) Act 2024 to harass, intimidate, arrest, detain, unfairly prosecute and imprison journalists, bloggers, social media users, and other Nigerians threaten and/or violate the rights to freedom of expression, information, opinion, privacy and media freedom, guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“An directing the Defendant to immediately repeal and/or amend section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) (Amendment) Act 2024 in line with Nigeria’s obligations under Article 1 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other relevant human rights treaties.

“Such further orders the Honorable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of this suit.”

No date has been set for the hearing.