Police linked to 118 civic space violations in 2025 -WSCIJ Report

WSCIJ

The Nigeria Police Force has been linked to 118 out of 245 civic space violations, according to a report by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) on the status of journalism and the civic space.

The Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda, Edetaen Ojo, made this known on Tuesday during his presentation of findings from the 153-page documented report on civic space violations. The event was held virtually on X Spaces.

The report, titled “Silenced Voices, Shrinking Space: Civic Freedoms Under Pressure,” relied on evidence from the WSCIJ monitoring work regarding patterns of intimidation against media and civil society actors.

The findings indicate that 89 per cent of recorded violations were perpetrated by state actors, with the Force accounting for 54 per cent of those incidents.

Aliyu Giwa, the Force spokesperson, said in response to the report’s findings that the Force is training 10,000 officers in election security management and human rights ahead of the 2027 elections.

Mr Giwa, who was represented by Kondom Joseph, a police superintendent, clarified that while police act as gatekeepers for law and order, they recognise journalists as core partners in society.

He emphasised that the police maintain internal mechanisms, such as the Public Complaints Bureau, to investigate officer misconduct through dismissals or demotions.

The online programme featured prominent figures, including human rights lawyer Ayo Obe; Peter Maduoma, executive director of the CLEEN Foundation; Edetaen Ojo and Motunrayo Alaka, executive director and CEO of WSCIJ.

Nabilah Usman, general manager of Radio Now 95.3 FM, moderated the online event.

In his remarks, Mr Ojo identified a culture of impunity as a primary challenge, noting that many violations occur because perpetrators believe that they would not face transparent punishment.

He called for legal reforms to close loopholes that allow laws to be used to restrict legitimate expression and assembly.

Mr Ojo noted that journalists are essential for democratic participation, accountability and rule of law in Nigeria.

On her part, WSCIJ’s CEO, Mrs Alaka, stressed that media organisations must remain persistent in their advocacy, despite the risk of state repression.

She said documented threats are increasing, with a notable spike during recent election cycles since 2021.

Data from the report shows significant spikes in incidents during election periods and public protests throughout 2023, 2024, and 2025.

While journalists were historically most affected, recent trends show more harassment directed toward general citizens in civic spaces.

Human rights lawyer Ms Obe highlighted that while the constitution guarantees freedom of expression, journalists face targeted harassment.

She warned against using laws such as cyberbullying or criminal defamation as tools by powerful figures to harass critics through arbitrary arrests.

She identified the lack of independent discretion by police when handling reports involving public figures for politicians.

Mr Maduoma of CLEEN Foundation said there is a significant gap between security agencies and civil society regarding public trust.

He noted that accountability must be a continuous process involving intelligence sharing and community policing at the state level.

The 2025 Journalism and Civic Space Status Report, “Silenced Voices, Shrinking Space: Civic Freedoms Under Pressure”, presents an analysis of reported civic space violations.

The incidents were documented through systematic monitoring of reports published by 54 media organisations between January and December 2025.

“Data was collected through continuous monitoring of reports on civic space violations across physical and digital spaces. Every incident was verified through cross-checking with multiple credible sources before inclusion in the dataset. Where additional context was required, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted,” the report stated.

The report said it counted incidents reported by multiple media organisations as a single verified incident to avoid duplication.

It added that the 245 incidents analysed were referenced in reports published by 54 media organisations, comprising 16 newspapers with print and online editors, 26 online-only news platforms, 10 television stations and two radio stations.

The report said the findings showed that Nigeria’s civic space remained under significant pressure despite the country’s democratic system and constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights.

It also identified the Nigeria Police Force as being involved in 118 of the 219 incidents involving state actors.