By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja

Civic freedoms across West Africa are deteriorating at an alarming rate, with Nigeria recording the highest number of violations in the subregion, a new report by Spaces for Change (S4C) has revealed.

The report, titled “Civic Space in West Africa: Trends, Threats and Futures”, unveiled in Abuja, documented 801 civic space violations across 16 countries between July 2022 and December 2024. This represents a 26 per cent increase compared to the 639 incidents recorded during the previous six-year period.

Findings by the report indicated that Nigeria accounted for 332 cases, representing 41 per cent of the total incidents recorded across the sub region. Guinea followed with 74 cases, while Mali recorded 70, Senegal 66 and Burkina Faso 57. Other countries listed include Niger with 42 incidents, Togo 40, Sierra Leone 29, Ghana 27 and Gambia 18. Others are Côte d’Ivoire 16, Benin 13, Liberia 11, Guinea-Bissau five and Mauritania one, while Cape Verde recorded no incidents.

According to the report, repression of civic space has become increasingly systematic across the region, with state authorities deploying arrests, prosecutions, violence and judicial mechanisms to silence dissent.

The report, which is in its second edition, identified military coups, flawed elections, insecurity, misuse of digital technologies and a rapidly growing youth population as key structural drivers behind the shrinking civic space.

A major concern highlighted was the growing role of the judiciary in enabling repression. Judicially backed violations surged from just nine cases over six years to 70 cases within less than three years, representing nearly a 700 per cent increase.

It stated: “Governments are no longer simply ignoring courts; they are weaponising them. This shift from judicial passivity to judicial complicity is the defining new finding of the current period”.

It further noted that the crisis has expanded beyond individual countries to become a regional trend, adding: “The democratic recession of 2023 has become, by 2025, something closer to a democratic emergency”.

To address the trend, the report outlined six strategic priorities, including sustained engagement with judicial actors, investment in digital security tools for activists and journalists, and the inclusion of civil society organisations in counterterrorism policymaking to ensure human rights protections.

Other recommendations include building coalitions with trade unions and grassroots movements, strengthening cross-border collaboration, and establishing a regional emergency fund to support civic actors facing repression.

In her comments at the unveiling, Executive Director of Spaces for Change, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, said the report examined citizens’ ability to exercise freedoms of expression, association and assembly without fear.

She described freedom of expression as the most suppressed right across the region, pointing out that “people who criticise public authorities at the local, state or federal levels are increasingly getting into trouble. When you make a critical comment on social media, you’re likely going to be arrested, detained, prosecuted or jailed”.

She added that rights to association and peaceful assembly, including protests against unjust policies, are also facing increasing restrictions.

Also commenting, Programme Director at Fund for Global Human Rights, James Savage, said the findings reflect a broader global trend of shrinking civic space, with similar patterns observed in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Despite the worsening situation, he noted that there are still encouraging signs, particularly in the rise of youth-led civic engagement across West Africa.

According to him, growing activism among young people demonstrates a continued determination by citizens to demand accountability and uphold democratic rights in the face of increasing repression.