The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has demanded that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas immediately scrap the Nigeria Data Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The organization argues that the legislation serves as a disguised attempt to censor online platforms and strengthen government authority over digital discourse, violating international human rights protections.
Introduced by Senator Ned Nwoko, the proposed law would mandate that social media firms and data processors open physical offices in Nigeria. It grants the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) the authority to shutter any platform that fails to meet this requirement within a 30-day window. SERAP, led by Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, contends that these localization mandates expose local staff to intimidation and provide the government with easier avenues for political censorship.
In a letter to the National Assembly, SERAP emphasized that the bill risks repeating the legal pitfalls of previous attempts to restrict digital spaces, noting that such moves mimic tactics previously condemned by the ECOWAS Court of Justice. The group maintains that the bill lacks necessary judicial oversight and proportionality, functioning essentially as a tool for administrative exclusion without adequate safeguards. SERAP has vowed to pursue legal action if the assembly moves forward with the legislation, arguing that it threatens Nigeria’s digital economy and infringes upon the constitutional rights of its citizens to free expression and association.
