By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – AS political activities begin to steam up ahead of the 2027 general elections, Kimpact Development Initiative, KDI, Friday, stated that unveiled civic platforms will address holistically issues on human rights violation and other civil issues before, during and after the elections.

Speaking at the National Dialogue on Civic Space and the public launch of the Naija Civic Space Platform in Abuja, the Executive Director, KDI, Bukola Idowu, said it is no longer acceptable and allowing human rights violators unknown and unpunished, which threatens the nation’s democracy.

Idowu also explained that the essence of the launch of the platform is “to build residence spaces in Nigeria, which is “designed to strengthen and document, protect, and also for accountability framework for civic space in Nigeria.”

According to him, it will enable and “ensure that citizens, civil society, media actors, human rights defenders, and communities have the credibility to report, track, and respond to issues affecting civic space and freedom across the country.”

Meanwhile, he underscored the importance of the platform, whereby it has been developed through collaboration, consultation, and partnership across six geopolitical zones, which KDI partnered with over 120 civil societies.

He said: “Within Nigeria’s civic space, Nigeria now has a tool for accountability, a platform to document incidents, strengthen evidence, support response mechanisms, and promote the protection of civic freedom.

“This is important because democracy cannot grow where civic space is shrinking,
and accountability cannot thrive where violations are undocumented.

“The platform will help move civic space conversation from isolated reports to structural evidence, from concern to action, and from silence to visibility.

“As we launch this platform today, our call is simple. Let us use it, protect it, and strengthen it
together. Governments, institutions, security agencies, civil society organizations, development
partners, and citizens all have a role to play in ensuring that Nigeria’s civic space remains open,
safe, and accountable.

“We cannot afford to keep putting things under the carpet. We need to begin to hold people accountable.

“I think this will also help in the coming elections, ensuring that civic space issues and human rights violations within the electoral cycle that have been trampled upon are adequately reported and properly followed up for accountability.

“Offenders—whether government institutions, individuals, or political actors—must be properly held accountable for their actions.”

However, the KDI boss expressed worry over incidents the outcome of some political party primaries of recent – intimidation, human rights abuse, violence, and impunity

“We have seen the party primaries going on. We have seen how the rights of people have been violated, even as members, candidates and aspirants. We have seen gunshots,” he said.

“We have seen state institutions being used to intimidate people. But who is holding people accountable? Where can we even find it reported? Where can we even reference it?

“We do not want a situation where something happens and then, in the next one or two weeks, another thing happens and the previous issue fades away,” he said.

“We want to keep it on the front burner so that everybody can go back and see that this happened and nothing has been done about it. If you look at many cases in Nigeria, after #EndSARS, what happened to the reports?”

In his goodwill message, Governance Adviser at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Dr Mathew Ayibakuro, described the platform as a critical tool for strengthening democratic participation and responsive governance.

Ayibakuro also said his organization will continue to support such initiatives from other CSOs as it is doing for KDI, which he commended KDI for such initiative.

“At its core, this is about people. It is about the ability of people to engage, to assemble, to organise, and to make meaningful decisions.

“When people can speak openly, consistently and safely, it provides the foundation for accountable governance and responsive institutions.

“There are many platforms that come online every year, but what truly matters is how effectively they are used. Therefore, the information generated through this important platform must be translated into action”, he added.