The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) calls on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to immediately withdraw the controversial bill aimed at amending the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
The bill aims to regulate blogger writers operating within the Nigerian territorial borders, thus raising concerns about freedom of speech and independence of the press.
Serap warned the bill, titled “A bill to amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, requiring the establishment of physical offices within the territorial borders of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through social media platforms and related matters.”
The bill has passed the first and second readings of the Senate, and it is recommended that all bloggers register for local offices and join the recognized Blogger Association.
In a letter dated April 12, 2025, signed by Serap Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the group denounced the bill as a “blatant attempt to bring back and quickly track the annoying, and was rejected by the backdoor of the social media bill.”
Serap warned that the move would kill online expression and impose unnecessary restrictions on Nigerian rights.
The organization urges the National Assembly to ensure that any amendment to the Nigerian Data Protection Act does not undermine the rights of blogs, journalists or other content creators.
The organization stressed that such amendments must protect basic human rights and that they should not impose improper restrictions on the rights of freedom of speech and online access to information.
“The bill is designed to regulate bloggers in ways that threaten their independence and freedom. We urge you to withdraw it immediately.” In his statement, Serapp said stressing the importance of ensuring that the law amendment is consistent with international standards for freedom of expression and press freedom.
The statement reads, “If passed, the bill will also be used to ban major social media platforms including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Tiktok and independent bloggers, who will continue to build/register and maintain physical offices if they keep building/registering and maintaining 30 days of physical offices in Nigeria.”
The letter, partially read: “Lawmakers should not be an arbiter of truth in the public and political spheres. Regulating the activities of bloggers and forcing them to interact with them will have a significant cold impact on freedom of speech and lead to censorship or restrictions.”
“The bill can also be used to prevent Nigerians from entering social media platforms. Blocking access to social media platforms is a blatant violation of fundamental rights.”
“In addition to violating Nigerians’ rights to access information and digital technology, the proposed bill will seriously hinder the operation of the country’s business, as many rely on foreign tools, services and technologies to operate their operations and other sectors that rely on online information.”
“The bill will pass the requirement that international tech companies force them to establish/register and maintain physical offices in the country outside of Nigeria’s information landscape. This will violate the requirement that the right to freedom of expression applies to “regardless of the border). ”
“If the National Assembly and its leadership fail to withdraw the bill that regulates the role of blogs, if any such bill is approved by President Bora Tinubu, SERAP will consider appropriate legal actions to challenge the legitimacy of any such law and ensure that it will never be implemented in the public interest.”
“The regulation of bloggers may be used to mask any voice of objection and to silence any form of criticism or negative perception of the policies and practices of the ruling party or government.”
“The authorities can also use the proposed regulations as an excuse to punish bloggers for the exercise of human rights simply for peaceful purposes.”
“The bill appears to target bloggers living in Nigeria and elsewhere, with serious adverse effects on the freedom of expression of a wide range of individuals.”
“The proposed Nigeria Data Protection Act, failed to meet the requirements of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution in 2023 [as amended] and that country is an international human rights treaty. ”
“If passed, the amendment would adversely affect unregistered bloggers within the Nigerian territorial border.”
“The proposed amendment can also be used to violate the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and international human rights standards. ”
“The proposed amendment is completely inconsistent with Nigeria’s obligation to respect and ensure the effective realization of freedom of opinion and freedom of expression. The amendment will disproportionately suppress the widespread expression that is essential to democratic societies.”
“The bill will pose a major obstacle and threat to anyone who may criticize the government, human rights defenders and civil society organizations, and to stifle democracy and media freedom.”
“Mandatory regulation of journalism is incompatible with the right to freedom of speech. There is no reasonable reason why bloggers – or actually members of the public, should be subject to mandatory regulations or permission to express themselves.”
“Blogs play a valuable role in the free flow of information. Bloggers should never be required to register blogs with government or other official institutions.”
“The bill can also be used as an excuse to force bloggers to disclose their sources. The right to protect resources is the cornerstone of press freedom, and without these sources, it may prevent sources from assisting the press in informing the public of public interest issues.”
“The country ratifies the protection of the Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties to protect everyone’s rights [including bloggers] Keep opinions free of disturbances and seek, receive and impart various information and ideas regardless of borders and through any media. ”
“The Nigerian authorities, including the National Assembly, have a legal obligation to ensure an environment where various opinions and ideas can be expressed freely and openly discussed.”
“The requirement for necessity means evaluating the proportionality of the restrictions, with the aim of ensuring that restrictions are targeted at a specific target and do not over-invade the rights of the target person.”
“As noted in the 2005 Joint Declaration on Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression,”[n]o Any public agency should be required to register or obtain a license to operate an Internet service provider, website, blog or other online information dissemination system, including Internet broadcasting. ”
“In their 2011 joint declaration on freedom of speech and the Internet, four special missions for freedom of speech stress that regulatory approaches in the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors cannot be simply transferred to the Internet.”
