The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government and state governors at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja. The suit challenges the alleged misuse of the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024 to suppress legitimate expressions and violate the human rights of Nigerians, including activists, journalists, bloggers, and social media users.
The legal action comes despite a prior ruling by the ECOWAS Court on March 25, 2022, which declared Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act 2015 as arbitrary, vague, and repressive. The court had ordered the Nigerian government to repeal the section, citing its inconsistency with the country’s human rights obligations.
While the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024 has repealed Section 24, SERAP argues that the amendments fail to address the inherent flaws of the legislation. In suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/03/2025, filed last week, SERAP is contesting the compatibility of the amended provisions with Nigerians’ rights to freedom of expression and information.
According to SERAP, the 2024 Act still enables the criminalization of legitimate expression, citing concerns over the ambiguous language in Section 24(1)(b), which references “causing a breakdown of law and order” without clear definitions. The organization argues that such vague provisions create opportunities for abuse and are used to stifle peaceful dissent.
“The provisions of the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024 represent a harshly punitive attempt to address issues like stalking and harassment but fail to provide safeguards against misuse, particularly against peaceful and legitimate human rights advocacy,” SERAP stated.
The organization also criticized the definition of “cyberstalking” in Section 58, describing it as overly broad. SERAP claims that Nigerian authorities are using the law to curtail human rights and suppress media freedom instead of ensuring cybersecurity and public safety.
In the suit, filed by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Mrs. Adelanke Aremo, and Andrew Nwankwo, SERAP expressed concerns that the law threatens the rights and livelihoods of Nigerians, including members of the organization itself.
The group is seeking a court order compelling the government to repeal or amend Section 24 of the Act in compliance with Nigeria’s obligations under Article 1 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international treaties.
No date has been set for the hearing of the case.
