SERAP filed a petition before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) contesting the Nigerian government’s attempt to pass two bills that would allow authorities to gag the media and impose harsh and arbitrary punishments on media personnel.
This case concerns the push by the Nigerian government to pass two bills that would allow Nigerian authorities to gag the media, and impose arbitrary and harsh punishment on journalists, broadcast stations, media houses, and media practitioners in Nigeria. The anti-media bills are some of the latest threats to freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom in the country. The first bill aims to amend the National Broadcasting Act, and the second bill seeks to amend the Nigeria Press Council Act. Under the bills, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) can shut down TV and radio stations “in the public interest” and press code must be approved by the Minister of Information. The overly broad definition of public interest opens the door for the Nigerian government to crackdown on freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom. The bills would also allow the Nigerian government to jail journalists, fine newspapers up to 10 million naira (more than $13,000 USD), or close their media outlets for up to a year if they publish “fake” news.
SERAPsubmitted a complaint to the ACHPR on June 26, 2021, asking for provisional measures to stop the Nigerian government. The organization sought that the government would be requested/ordered to immediately withdraw the oppressive bills to gag the media, in line with international human rights law.
On June 5, 2021, the Nigerian government officially put an indefinite ban on Twitter by impeding the social media platform from operating in the country. This took place after tweets made by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, warning the south-eastern people of Nigeria, which is made of predominantly Igbo people, of a potential repeat of the 1967 Biafran Civil War due to the ongoing insurgency in the region, were deleted from the platform. The Nigerian government claimed that the deletion of the President’s tweets factored into their decision, but it was ultimately based on “a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences.” On Saturday, June 6, 2021, the 1st Defendant (NBC) issued a press release directing all broadcasting stations in Nigeria to immediately de-install their Twitter handles and refrain from using Twitter as a source of information gathering. A copy of the press statement by the NBC dated June 6, 2021, was published on its website, www.nbc.gov.ng, along with a printout of the BBC publication of June 7, 2021. In the press release of June 6, the 1st Defendant cited and relied on the provisions of section 2 [1] r of the National Broadcasting Act and sections 3.11.1 and 5.6.3 of the National Broadcasting Code to act and direct the Nigerian broadcast stations to comply with its directive.
After several efforts to regulate and constrain social media platforms, Media Rights Agenda (MRA) filed a suit in August 2021 against the NBC to challenge its legal authority to regulate and licence social media platforms.
In 2023, the NBC repeatedly sanctioned broadcast stations for allegedly contravening the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, particularly during the elections. However, the Federal High Court Abuja ruled in June that the NBC had no power to impose sanctions or to conduct criminal investigations, and therefore set aside the fines and restrained it from imposing further sanctions.
Sahara Reporters, SERAP Asks African Commission To Order Buhari-led Government, National Assembly To Withdraw Bills To Gag The Media (27 June 2021)