By Marie-Therese Nanlong

Jos – The Coalition on Judicial Aspects for Electoral Reforms, COJAR has urged media practitioners in Plateau State to play their roles and step up actions that would empower citizens to demand judicial accountability in post-election justice, especially as the 2027 general elections approach.

The media practitioners were also called upon to take an interest in the Electoral Act 2022, see where it needs reform, and set an agenda that would see the process corrected for the good of the nation’s democracy.

The charge came in Jos, during a day Roundtable Engagement on Digital Rights organized by Accountability Lab Nigeria in collaboration with ActionAid, the convener of the Coalition and DigiCivic Initiative.

Recall that even though Nigeria has made strides with data protection legislation, such as the Data Protection Act 2023 and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), there are still significant gaps in public awareness and enforcement.

Citizens remain unaware of their digital rights, and data collectors often fall short of their responsibility to safeguard personal information. As a result, data breaches frequently go unreported, leaving individuals vulnerable to exploitation.

The roundtable aimed to empower media practitioners in Plateau State with the knowledge and tools to understand the legal frameworks governing data privacy, digital rights, and freedom of expression in Nigeria and strengthen media coverage of digital rights issues, with a focus on data privacy violations and accountability gaps.

It also exposed participants to use platforms like Ripoti to report and track violations to hold institutions and individuals accountable for breaches of digital rights and synergize the efforts of stakeholders working in various ways to hold the Judiciary accountable and promote justice.

Adesuwa Ilobe of ActionAid stated the engagement was important to build the capacity of the media practitioners to see how civic and digital rights can be protected and also use the media space to contribute to judicial reforms.

She highlighted the challenges of corruption, late actions, delayed justice, questionable judgments questioning the independence of the judiciary, and the appointments of Judges, and charged the media practitioners to “get grounded in the laws, electoral act, election petition tribunal processes, and make contributions grounded in facts to adequately inform Nigerians.”

On election justice, Ilobe maintained, “It has become more apparent that the court has the power to disenfranchise Nigerians by a single judgment. Therefore, we cannot eradicate poverty if the courts are enabling it. This makes the judiciary a focal point of advocacy for Nigerian citizens.”

Friday Odeh of Accountability Lab Nigeria who spoke on the topic, “Digital Rights, Freedom of Expression, and Online Censorship: Understanding, Reporting, and Resisting Digital Repression in Nigeria,” noted that digital rights are human rights.

According to him, “The internet is a vital space for civic engagement, information access, and social mobilization. Digital rights are human rights in the digital age. The importance of protecting these rights is for a thriving civil society.”

He further urged citizens to “Use the Ripoti platform to document and report incidents of censorship, surveillance, and online harassment, share information about digital rights issues with friends, family, and colleagues, join campaigns and programs to protect digital rights in Nigeria, and call on the government and corporations to respect digital rights and end repressive practices.”