The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, SAN, has accused authorities of using the Cybercrimes Act to stifle free speech, warning that the law is increasingly being deployed against critics, journalists and activists.
Speaking on ARISE Television’s Prime Time on Wednesday, Osigwe said individuals are being investigated, charged and detained for alleged cybercrime and criminal defamation in circumstances that ordinarily warrant bail. “Free speech is being muzzled in Nigeria under the guise of charging people to court and investigating them for cybercrime and criminal defamation,” he said, alleging that some judges and magistrates are denying bail without sufficient justification.
Osigwe cautioned that such actions risk turning the judiciary into “an oppressive tool,” arguing that public office holders should be open to scrutiny in a democracy. “If they deprive people of the ability to criticise and hold them to account, then democracy dies,” he said, adding that judicial cooperation in such cases undermines democratic principles.
His comments come amid renewed debate over the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, first enacted in 2015 and amended in 2024. While the law targets online fraud and cyberterrorism, critics contend that provisions on cyberstalking are vaguely defined and have been used to pursue dissenting voices.