By Godswill Michael
Nigeria has recorded at least 564 cases of attacks against journalists, political restrictions, and clampdowns on freedom of association as of August 2025, according to data from Closingspaces.org, a platform that tracks media, civic space violations and human rights abuses in the country.
The regional breakdown shows that the North Central topped the list with 191 incidents, followed by the Southwest with 134. The South East recorded 81, the South South 74, the Northwest 57, while the Northeast had 27.
Some of the most recent cases highlight the intensity of the threats. In August 2025, the State Security Service detained Adejuwon Soyinka, West African Regional Editor of The Conversation Africa, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Soyinka, who is also a former pioneer editor of the BBC Pidgin Service, was picked up by SSS operatives at about 5:40 a.m. on his return from the United Kingdom via a Virgin Atlantic flight.
Similarly, the Nigerian police arrested protesters marking Democracy Day in Ibadan, Oyo State, while in Lagos, on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Daniel Ojokwu, a reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), was arrested. In the South South, police shot protesting women in Ughelli North, Delta State, hospitalizing five. In Bayelsa, journalist Saint Mienpamo Onitsha was charged with cybercrime.
Freedom of expression, experts warn, is under serious strain. According to Learn Nigeria Law, a legal education platform, “The right to freedom of expression is one of those rights seen as very essential and fundamental to the development of a civilized society. It is the foundation for the enforcement of other rights, encroachment of which is made known by expression. A major determinant of a nation’s respect for the rights of its people is the extent to which they can express themselves.”
The platform further notes: “Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through mediums including various electronic media and published materials.”
These principles are grounded in international and national law. The United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.”
Nigeria’s own 1999 Constitution echoes this guarantee in Section 39:
“Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impact ideas and information without interference. Without prejudice to the generality of Subsection (1) of this section, every person shall be entitled to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions, provided that no person, other than the government of the federation or a state, or any other person or body authorized by the president on fulfillment of a condition laid down by an Act of National Assembly, shall own, establish or operate a television or wireless broadcasting station for any purpose whatsoever.”
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights also enshrines this in Article 10, stating:
“Every individual shall have the right to receive information. Every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinion within the law.”
Beyond these legal frameworks, Nigeria’s constitution tasks the press with a clear mandate: “The press, radio, television and other agencies of mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.”
Despite these protections, the numbers from Closingspaces.org reflect a worsening environment for press freedom and political participation in Nigeria, raising concern about the country’s commitment to democratic ideals.
