SERAP faults data bill, warns against social media crackdown
The Punch·July 20, 2026
AI Summary
SERAP has criticized the proposed Nigeria Data Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2026, calling on the National Assembly to withdraw it. The organization warns that the bill could potentially enable government crackdowns on social media platforms and restrict digital freedoms.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project. Photo: SERAP
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged the National Assembly to immediately withdraw the proposed Nigeria Data Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2026, describing it as a “backdoor attempt” to regulate social media and expand government control over online expression.
The rights group warned that the bill, if passed in its current form, would grant regulators sweeping powers to shut down digital platforms operating in Nigeria, thereby threatening the constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression, access to information and digital communication.
In a letter dated July 18, 2026, addressed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, SERAP said the proposed legislation should be rejected because it violates both the Nigerian Constitution and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The letter was signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
Sponsored by Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North), the bill seeks to compel social media platforms, data controllers and data processors operating in Nigeria to establish physical offices in the country.
It also empowers the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to prohibit or shut down the operations of any entity that fails to comply within 30 days.
SERAP stated that the localisation requirement would expose technology companies to undue political influence and make it easier for authorities to pressure digital platforms.
According to the organisation, “Requirements compelling technology companies to establish local offices would increase government leverage over platforms, facilitate political pressure, make censorship demands easier and expose local employees to retaliation.”
It added, “The Bill would create sweeping powers capable of shutting down or excluding social media platforms from the Nigerian market and expose millions of Nigerians to serious violations of their constitutionally and internationally guaranteed human rights.”
The organisation recalled previous efforts by the National Assembly to regulate social media, noting that they generated widespread public opposition and human rights concerns.
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“The current Bill revives substantially similar proposals previously introduced by Senator Nwoko, raising renewed concerns that localisation requirements are being used as a vehicle for expanding governmental control over digital platforms and online expression,” the letter stated.
SERAP warned that it would challenge the legislation in court if it were eventually signed into law.
“Should the Bill be enacted into law in its current or substantially similar form, SERAP shall promptly take all appropriate legal actions to challenge its legality in the public interest and to ensure that Nigerians’ fundamental rights are fully protected,” it said.
The organisation maintained that while governments have a legitimate interest in regulating digital platforms and ensuring compliance with domestic laws, such regulation must conform with constitutional safeguards and international human rights standards.
“Measures regulating digital services should enhance transparency, accountability and users’ rights—not create additional tools for censorship, surveillance or political interference,” SERAP said.
It argued that the bill empowers the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to prohibit the operations of digital platforms without adequate procedural safeguards.
“A law empowering regulators to exclude digital platforms from Nigeria inevitably interferes with the rights of the people who rely upon those platforms. The proposed section 5(p) in the Bill authorises the NDPC to prohibit entities from conducting operations in Nigeria without adequate procedural safeguards,” it stated.
According to SERAP, the proposed legislation contains no requirement for prior judicial authorisation, no obligation to consider less restrictive alternatives, and no meaningful opportunity for affected companies to remedy alleged non-compliance beyond what it described as an arbitrary 30-day period.
“The Bill cannot survive scrutiny under Section 45 of the Nigerian Constitution, which permits restrictions on fundamental rights only where they are prescribed by law, pursue a legitimate objective and are reasonably justifiable in a democratic society,” the organisation added.
It further argued that there was no evidence that existing powers under the Nigeria Data Protection Act were inadequate or that current enforcement mechanisms had failed.
“The Bill imposes one of the most severe sanctions available: the exclusion of digital platforms from Nigeria merely because they have not established a physical office,” SERAP said.
The group also warned that the proposal could undermine Nigeria’s digital economy and innovation ecosystem by discouraging investment and increasing compliance costs for startups, artificial intelligence developers, educational institutions and research organisations.
According to SERAP, “Mandatory localisation requirements substantially increase compliance costs, particularly for startups, open-source projects, educational institutions, research organisations, AI developers and smaller technology companies, while reducing Nigeria’s attractiveness as a destination for innovation and investment.”
The organisation noted that the proposal conflicts with the objectives of the Nigeria Startup Act 2022 and the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy.
SERAP also cited the judgment of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in SERAP and Others v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, which held that the Federal Government’s suspension of Twitter violated the rights to freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.
“Although the present Bill differs from the Twitter suspension in form, it creates the possibility of achieving the same result indirectly by empowering regulators to prohibit digital platforms from operating in Nigeria,” it said.
The organisation further relied on international human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the African Commission’s Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa.
It also referenced warnings by former United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, against requiring technology companies to establish local offices as a means of facilitating censorship or indirect governmental pressure over content moderation decisions.
SERAP maintained that no major democratic country requires every social media platform to establish a physical office as a blanket condition for operating.
“The National Assembly should immediately reject and withdraw the Bill, as it is manifestly incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution and Nigeria’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” the organisation said.
It added, “The National Assembly should seize this opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to constitutional democracy, the rule of law and Nigeria’s digital future by immediately withdrawing the Bill.”
Onozure is a correspondent of The PUNCH on the judiciary beat. She has over a decade experience covering criminal and civil matters from the magistrate to the appellate courts. She’s a graduate of Political Science
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