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There is a law in Nigeria that was built to protect people. Instead, it has become a tool to silence them. The Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act of 2015 was passed with good intentions, which is to curb fraud, protect infrastructure, and bring order to a fast-growing digital space.
But a decade on, the law is broken in ways that matter. It has been turned against journalists, activists, and ordinary Nigerians whose only crime was speaking the truth online. This is not a small concern. It is a crisis that goes to the heart of what kind of country Nigeria wants to be.
In 2025, Paradigm Initiative and other civil society groups documented over 60 cases in which Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act, the provision on “offensive” electronic messages, was used to arrest or charge individuals for social media posts. The Nigeria Internet Registration Association reported that internet penetration in Nigeria reached 55 percent in early 2025, meaning over 120 million Nigerians are now online.
Yet Amnesty International flagged at least 14 documented cases between January and March 2025 alone in which journalists faced cybercrime charges for reporting that embarrassed government officials. These numbers are not abstract. They represent real people who were dragged into police stations for doing nothing more than posting opinions or reporting facts.
The Law Is Too Vague and That Is No Accident
Section 24 of the Act criminalises anyone who sends a message that is “grossly offensive,” “indecent,” or “menacing.” These words have no clear legal meaning. They are wide enough to swallow almost any speech a government finds uncomfortable. Prosecutors do not need to prove harm. They do not need to show that anyone was truly threatened. They only need to point to words on a screen and argue, subjectively, that those words crossed a line.
This is not what the law was designed for. Cybercrime law exists to stop hackers, fraudsters, and people who steal data or money through digital means. It was never meant to function as a filter for public opinion. When a law is this vague, it is not a safeguard; it is a weapon.
The 2024 Amendment Did Not Go Far Enough
There was a moment of hope. In 2024, the Nigerian government amended the Cybercrime Act, removing the infamous provision that had imposed a three-year prison sentence for social media posts deemed offensive. Civil society celebrated. But the celebration was premature.
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The language that replaced it remained open to interpretation. Law enforcement retained wide discretion. The institutions responsible for oversight, the police, the office of the Attorney General, and the courts, received no additional guidance on where the line between criminal speech and protected expression should fall. An amendment that does not address the structural problem is not a fix. It is a patch on a leaking roof.
What a Real Overhaul Looks Like
Fixing this law requires more than tinkering at the edges. Three things must happen.
First, the definition of criminal speech must meet a clear and high threshold. Criminalising speech online should require proof of a specific, credible, and direct harm, not hurt feelings, not embarrassment, not political inconvenience. Countries that have navigated this well, including Ghana and South Africa, offer models Nigeria can draw from.
Second, oversight must be built into the enforcement process. No cybercrime charge involving speech or expression should proceed without independent review by a body that includes legal experts and civil society representatives. Police and prosecutors should not be the sole gatekeepers of what counts as a criminal message.
Third, victims of abuse under the Act must have a clear path to redress. Those who were wrongly arrested, charged, or whose devices were seized without legal basis must be able to seek a remedy, not just in theory, but in practice. This means creating accountability mechanisms with teeth.
The Urgency Is Real
Every month this law remains unreformed, Nigerians pay for it. A student who posts a satirical video about a senator. A nurse who exposes hospital conditions on Facebook. A teacher who shares a political opinion on WhatsApp. All of them are technically vulnerable under a law that has shown it can be turned on ordinary people without warning.
Nigeria has a chance to get this right. The National Assembly has the power to act. Civil society has the evidence. The international community is watching. What is needed now is the will and the honesty to admit that a law meant to protect Nigerians has, in too many cases, been used to punish them instead. That admission is not weakness. It is the beginning of something better.
Chinecherem Comfort Onyemkpa is a cybersecurity manager, technology entrepreneur, and community advocate with of experience leading security operations across major African technology companies.
As Co-Founder of Nexora, she drives innovative digital platforms spanning communications, legal technology, investment, and commerce. Beyond technology leadership, she is widely recognised for mentoring young women into STEM careers and expanding technology access through grassroots community outreach and empowerment initiatives across Nigeria.
