The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called for a coordinated national response to digital rights violations, warned that fragmented institutional action could undermine efforts to protect citizens’ rights in Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital space.
Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, made the call in Abuja at a multi-stakeholder convening on “Building a Coordinated Response System for Digital Rights Violations.”
Ojukwu said Nigeria’s digital space had become critical to civic engagement and the exercise of fundamental freedoms, but noted that significant gaps remained in reporting mechanisms, referral pathways, preservation of digital evidence and the handling of high-risk cases.
He stressed that constitutional protections for dignity, privacy, freedom of expression and association apply both online and offline, adding that efforts to address cybercrime and national security concerns must be carried out in accordance with due process and human rights standards.
According to him, the need for a coordinated response has become more urgent with the 2027 general elections approaching, as digital platforms are expected to play a major role in political discourse, civic participation and information sharing.
He called for mechanisms that would strengthen complaint intake, referrals, emergency escalation, victim protection, secure information sharing and policy reform.
Ojukwu also disclosed that the proposed integration of the Ripoti platform would help link the reporting of digital rights violations to appropriate remedies, while incorporating necessary data protection and privacy safeguards.
Earlier, Country Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, Mr. Odeh Friday, said the major challenge was not necessarily the absence of reporting channels but what happened after victims reported violations.
Odeh cited cases involving loan applications, non-consensual sharing of images, online harassment and threats against journalists, noting that victims were often left without clear pathways to obtain assistance or justice.
He said the convening was aimed at developing a Coordinated Response Framework that would establish clear institutional roles, referral pathways, escalation mechanisms, standardised documentation procedures and designated focal persons.
The framework, he added, would also include a six-to-12-month action plan to translate the outcome of the discussions into concrete interventions.
Both Ojukwu and Odeh emphasised that the effectiveness of the proposed system should ultimately be measured by its ability to provide victims with swift and safe access to justice, while contributing to sustainable institutional and policy reforms.
