Authored By: Oyedepo Oluwatimilehin Samuel
Lagos State University
Introduction
Since independence on 1st October,1960; Nigeria is at its peak of its digital era. Even though it has its fair share of ‘dark times’ when freedom Of speech was limited especially during the military regime in Nigeria, those ‘dark times’, however, were quickly replaced by a new era that supports free communication of thought.
Freedom of expression is a basic right as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria[1], and as if to introduce a digital era where information will be expressed unrestrictedly, the constitution couldn’t have been amended at a better time.
Unlike previous times when thoughts and ideas are only limited to those who have access to newspapers or magazines or radios, information is easily accessible by the common man whether through the internet, mobile phones, or Television.
The Legal core
According to section 39(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; “ Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.” However like every other right, this is not absolute, for there are limitations as to how this Right is used so as not to infringe another person’s right. So, section 40(1) provides that the rights will be limited “(a) in the interest of defence, public safety, Public order, public morality or public health or (b) for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom or other persons”[2]
The vagueness
However, questions like; ‘when is a public expression against public safety or public morality?’ ‘What kind of pictures can be posted online that won’t be against the public sector morally?’ ‘is banning social media by the government for the protection of Public interests?’ and many more arise.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the supreme legal authority in Nigeria and due to its uniformity, so there will be no room for vagueness.
The Federal government of Nigeria, in recognition of this, enacted statues to deal with the lacunas created by the constitution; a statute that specializes in regulating online contents to text messages is the Cybercrimes act 2015 and for broadcasting is NBC act[3].
For example section 32 of the Cybercrimes act provides against phishing, spamming and spread of Computer virus and section 23 for child pornography and related offences.
However, it seems these acts did not fully clear the vagueness of the Nigerian Constitution as critics has arisen and even Legal case against the Federal government for the vagueness of some terms in the Cybercrimes (prohibition, prevention etc.) act 2015[4] like using ambitious words like ‘cyberstalking’ while neglecting common terms like ‘cyberbullying’
Also, the NBC act grants the government the power (if not absolute power) to the broadcasting sector of the country like reviewing license application and granting licenses with the power to revoke them[5]
This brings the question of whether the act is for regulating or whether it is meant to ‘control’ the supposed freedom of expression for the citizens?
Freedom of speech
Osita Eze (1999) asserts that freedom of expression is of Great importance to human race, as free exchange of ideas tends to promote harmony And societal development; while suppression of the freedom of expression often Leads to conflict and instability[6]
As aforementioned, Freedom of speech is less limited compared to previous times (military regime), now individuals can express themselves freely in various platforms whether by social media, internet blogs, in public spaces (with large sound systems), billboards, banners to mention a few.
Also, the Nigerian Constitution allows for expressing ideas without interference and also “every person shall be entitled to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions”[7] but according to recent statistics by the media Right agenda[8] that there has been “86 incidents of attacks against journalists, media houses, and citizens in 2025, describing a “deteriorating environment” and a “reign of impunity”. Which is to suggest that the promised freedom of speech is not absolute.
An incident that challenged the reality of section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was the #ENDSARS protest.
During the covid-19 period, there was an increase in police brutality all over Nigeria, in fact by April, 2020; more people have died from police brutality than the covid-19 virus[9]. As a result of this, Nigerian youths set aside 20th October 2020 for a peaceful protest to urge the government to end police brutality in Nigeria.
Although some questions regarding this incident are still unanswered till today,The people of Nigeria wait for an answer.
20th October 2020
On the night of 20 October 2020, at about 6:50 p.m., members of the Nigerian Army opened fire on unarmed End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate (Admiralty Circle Plaza) in Lagos State, Nigeria. Amnesty International stated that at least 12 protesters were killed during the shooting.[10]
This challenged the ability of the government to protect the right of freedom of expression, and led to concerns of the right of citizens of Nigeria to express themselves freely. Osai Ojigho, Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria said: “Opening fire on peaceful protesters is a blatant violation of people’s rights to life, dignity, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Soldiers clearly had one intention – to kill without consequences.”[11]
Content Moderation in Nigeria
Social media has been a platform where millions of Nigerians share their thoughts, ideas, videos and even make money from. Millions of people can express information, create awareness and post videos by just lifting a finger. This flexibility has led to major problems resulting from hate speech, cyber bullying to pornography. Not forgetting that the Constitution allows for freedom of expression in section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In an attempt to curb these threats, The Federal Government of Nigeria enacted the Cybercrimes Act to prohibit and prevent such undisciplined use of the internet and other digital facilities.
This act defines an offence, lists the elements and also punishment for the offenders. For example it is no news that internet fraudsters popularly known as “Yahoo Boys” use steal identities of another person or create fake identities to collect sensitive information or put them in a place to retrieve such information which will lead to financial or other benefits to themselves – in this case, the appropriate offense is Identity theft and impersonation and the penalty is 7,000,000 naira fine or 5 years Imprisonment or both.[12] Ironically, the CBN reports that there has been a 45% increase in digital fraud in the past years and over 70% increase in loss.[13] Needless to say, more regulation and enforcement.
Also, the question that has lingered in the minds of millions is: “ who regulates and checks the government when they breach the right of their citizens to freedom to make online contents?” or more explanatory; what measures has been taken to check the absolute power of the Federal government to exercise control on Digital platforms and freedom of speech?
In 2021, the Federal government banned Twitter(presently known as X) after it deleted the president’s post, as a result of this the platform was banned for 7 months, during this period telecommunication companies in Nigeria refused citizens access to the app. This was regarded as a breach of the citizens fundamental rights to freedom of expression by the ECOWAS court.[14] The ban was lifted after agreement between the government and the platform
Striking the Balance
In respect to the various authority of the Constitution, statutes and reforms aimed at regulating, checking and controlling the right to expression whether digitally or physically, much work is to be done by the government to check excessive power.
Also, bodies like the EFCC(Economic Financial Crime Commission), the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices Commission),Office of the National Security Adviser National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (ONSA-NCCC) and more should be given the authority to also check the excesses of government offices when they exercise more power.
Not forgetting that the Cybercrimes act should be reformed to create an agency that will specialize in moderating online contents and persecute individuals who break the law.
Conclusion
In light of the aforementioned, the duty of balancing freedom of speech and content Moderation in Nigeria is not only dependent on the Constitution or statutes or Judicial authorities but every Citizen of Nigeria and The Nigerian Government and its agency As imposed by the constitution[15] and the primary duty to not infringe on another’s right.
True, the world is filled with selfish people who consider their rights absolute and won’t think twice to infringe on other people’s but we must know that ‘two wrongs do not make a right’. We must know that neglecting such an act is contributory as doing the act itself, and refusal to prosecute or at the very least, report that discriminatory or defamatory post would make us party to the act itself.
Reference(S):
[1] Chapter IV, section 39(1) of the 1999constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
[2] Section 40(1)(a)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
[3] Nigerian Broadcasting Commission act 1992.
[4] SERAP v. Tinubu & 36 Governors (ECOWAS Court, Filed Jan 2025)
[5] 2(1) of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission act. Page 1
[6] Series A. N0. 24 of European Human Rights Report (EHRR) 737 at R 49
[7] Section 39(2) a of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
[8] Media Rights Agenda (MRA), “When Protectors Become Predators: The State Against Freedom of Expression in Nigeria, 2025” (Released Jan 29, 2026)
[9] National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Reports
[10] En.wikipedia.org
[11] Osai Ojigho,Amnesty International press release, 21st October,2020.
[12] Section 22(2-4) Cybercrimes (prohibition, prevention etc) Act 2015.
[13] CBN’s 2024 Financial Stability Report.
[14] SERAP v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (ECOWAS Court, 2022)
[15] Section 24 (d)(e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
