…says ‘Nigeria must act further to end abuse of Cybercrimes Act to target journalists’
The IPI global network welcomes the acquittal of Nigerian journalist Agba Jalingo of Cross River Watch newspaper by the Abuja Federal High Court on July 8 on cybercrime charges.
The court’s decision is a landmark step in enforcing fundamental rights and protecting press freedom in the face of the increasing weaponization of cybercrime laws globally to target journalists.
The IPI, in a statement on Tuesday, said this decision comes at a crucial time in Nigeria, where the authorities have used the 2015 Cybercrimes Act to crack down on critical voices. IPI calls on the Nigerian authorities to take this court ruling as a signal to put an end to the abuse of the Cybercrimes Act by influential public figures and public officials.
Jalingo was accused of cyberstalking in violation of Section 24 (1)b of the law. The charges were in relation to an August 2022 publication in which Jalingo wrote that a relative of former Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade had engaged someone to sit for law exams on her behalf. Jalingo was arrested and detained for several days before being granted bail.
‘’IPI welcomes the acquittal of Nigerian journalist Agba Jalingo on cybercrime charges. His case is one of several in Nigeria where the powerful figures have relied on the Cybercrime Law to target journalists”, said Nompilo Simanje, IPI Africa Advocacy and Partnerships Lead, said.
“The misuse of this law has continued despite an ECOWAS Court ruling on some provisions of the Cybercrimes Act, and recent amendments that have been made to the Act. Nigeria must undertake further reforms to ensure that the Cybercrimes Act cannot be misused to interfere with fundamental rights like media freedom and freedom of expression.”
Three years earlier, in July 2019, Jalingo was also arrested and detained for over six months under the Cybercrime Act, following a critical publication on Ben Ayade, the then-governor of Cross River State, involving corruption and public funds embezzlement scandal. In 2021, the ECOWAS court ordered the government of Nigeria to pay 30 million naira in compensation for the torture of the journalist. In 2022, Nigeria’s federal court dismissed all charges against the journalist related to the 2019 case.
Several journalists targeted by the Cybercrime Act
At least six journalists were recently arrested, detained, or prosecuted under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act. IPI monitoring documented the cases of journalist Daniel Ojukwu of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism in May; Segun Olatunji of FirstNews in March; and four journalists – Adisa-Jaji Azeez, Salihu Ayatullahi, Salihu Shola Taofeek, and Abdulrahman Taye Damilola – of Informant247 in February.
In all of the above cases, these journalists had published critical stories on influential public figures, including stories that exposed corruption or public funds embezzlement.
Despite the amendment of the Cybercrime Act law in February, journalists have continued to face harassment under the law.
