Coalition Applauds Cybercrimes Act Amendment, Urges FG to Uphold Full Freedom of Expression
Six civil society organisations (CSOs) have commended the federal government for the recent amendment of Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act, which hitherto had loopholes that the government used to restrict freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
The coalition has however called on the federal government, to as a matter of necessity, further consider the amendment of the Cybercrimes Act of 2015 in order to fully safeguard freedom of expression, adding that the recent amendment, does not provide complete freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
The coalition includes: Anvarie Tech, FollowTaxes, Gatefield, Paradigm Initiative, ResearcherNG and North-East Humanitarian Hub.
The Cybercrimes Act of 2015 is a landmark legislation enacted to be a framework for the prohibition, prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of online crimes in Nigeria, however due to its vague provisions it has become a tool used to restrict freedom of the press and expression, undermining the guarantees of Section 39 of the 1999 constitution.
The coalition, in a joint statement signed by all six, said: “We call on the federal government to take decisive action in further amending the Act to address the identified challenges and enact legislation and policy that are rights-respecting with particular interest in Sections 24, 38, 40, and others. We also call for safeguards against possible abuse by more explicitly requiring judicial oversight.”
They noted that the Cybercrimes
Act of 2015 criminalised online speech with “the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or causes such a message to be sent.”
Section 24 of the Act, they added, had been used to unlawfully arrest journalists among others for their speech online. One such victim is Chioma Okoli, a young and vibrant mother who faced unjust arrest and persecution for innocently sharing her opinion and experience with a tomato brand on social media. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court further declared Section 24 of Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act vague, arbitrary, and unlawful.