By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja
Civil rights advocacy group, Spaces for Change (S4C), has raised concerns over rising cases of illegal surveillance of journalists and civil society actors by government agencies in Nigeria.
In a report released on Thursday titled, “Victims Speak: Techniques, Patterns, and Impacts of Targeted Surveillance in Nigeria,” S4C said victims of surveillance in the country suffer harms that extend beyond digital intrusion.
The report, which documented the experiences of 18 victims of illegal surveillance, stated that the proliferation of surveillance technologies in Nigeria has been driven by a combination of security challenges, elections, technological dependence and regulatory gaps.
According to the report, Nigeria’s security threats, including terrorism, organised crime, religious intolerance, kidnapping, farmer-herder clashes, communal conflicts and separatist agitations, have prompted the government to procure sophisticated surveillance technologies from countries such as Israel, China, Italy, the United States and the Netherlands.
“These tools include IMSI catchers like Stingray, spyware, biometric systems, open-source intelligence platforms, remote device extraction tools, drones and social media monitoring software. While these capabilities can aid legitimate law enforcement and intelligence work, they also introduce significant risks when deployed without oversight,” the report stated.
S4C said the cases documented in the report showed that security agencies deployed various tools, including phone tracking and hacking technologies, to monitor the activities of 18 Nigerians, among them seven journalists.
Speaking on the findings, the Executive Director of S4C, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, urged the government to deploy surveillance technologies towards tackling insecurity rather than targeting critics and civic actors.
She described the scale of citizen monitoring as significant, noting that non-state actors were also involved in deploying surveillance tools against individuals.
According to her, many of the documented cases that eventually got to court were dismissed, suggesting that the surveillance operations were often aimed at intimidation rather than addressing genuine security threats.
“We are aware that surveillance is necessary, considering the massive security gaps in the country. So this infrastructure should be deployed to address real issues and not small issues about who is accusing who, criticising who, condemning who, or writing what. It seems that that’s where the appetite and the energy are going, and we are saying that this energy is being misdirected.
“Use the technologies to safeguard the country, protect citizens, minimise insecurity and make everybody feel much safer in the country,” she said.
Also speaking, retired judge, Justice Nkemdili Izuakor, stressed the need for training judicial officers on the protection of citizens’ rights.
“We should look at legal solutions to the problem, which is one aspect of what we need. Can we educate people in the legal profession and judicial officers to be able to take this on and tackle it?” she said.
Justice Izuakor added that victims of illegal surveillance could seek compensation through civil actions against the government and urged judges to expedite such cases to ensure victims obtain justice and compensation.
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