Civic Pulse Nigeria
Quarterly civic space report
Q3 2020
July to September 2020
Complete quarter. Generated 29 Sept 2026.
- Published records
- 6
- Change on Q2 2020
- +4
- States named
- 1
- Reporting organisations
- 6
6 civic space records were published for July to September 2020, against 2 in April to June 2020. Legal and Regulatory Framework was the most frequently recorded category. 4 of these came from reports written at national level that name no state.
Records by category
- Legal & Regulatory3
- Arrests & Detention2
- Citizen Engagement1
- Government Discourse0
- Resource Access0
- Harassment0
Where records were located
- Kano2
Plus 4 national-level records naming no state.
Who reported these incidents
- Rights monitors
- 1
- News outlets
- 4
- Official and court records
- 1
- Al Jazeera1
- Amnesty International1
- Channels Television1
- The Guardian Nigeria1
- TheCable1
- UNICEF1
The records
- 13 Aug 2020·National·CPN-0145
NBC fines Nigeria Info N5 million over comments on insecurity
On 13 August 2020 the National Broadcasting Commission fined Nigeria Info 99.3 FM N5 million for broadcasting an interview in which former Central Bank deputy governor Obadiah Mailafia alleged that a northern governor was a Boko Haram commander. The NBC said the station had given its platform to unverifiable and inciting views.
- The Guardian Nigeria: https://guardian.ng/news/nbc-fines-nigeria-info-n5-million-over-comments-on-insecurity/
- TheCable: https://www.thecable.ng/nbc-fines-radio-station-n5m-over-obadiah-mailafias-boko-haram-interview
- Nairametrics: https://nairametrics.com/2020/08/13/just-in-nbc-slams-n5-million-fine-on-nigeria-info-over-mailafia-comments/
- 10 Aug 2020·Kano·CPN-0146
Nigeria: Authorities must quash the conviction and death sentence imposed on Kano-based singer
On 10 August 2020 an Upper Sharia Court in Kano convicted singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, 22, of blasphemy over a song shared in a WhatsApp group and sentenced him to death by hanging. His lawyers said he had no legal representation at trial; UN human rights experts urged Nigeria to overturn the sentence.
- Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2020/08/nigeria-authorities-must-quash-the-conviction-and-death-sentence-imposed-on-kano-based-singer/
- OHCHR: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2020/09/un-rights-experts-urge-nigeria-overturn-death-sentence-singer-who-shared
- CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/29/africa/blasphemy-trial-nigeria/index.html
- 10 Aug 2020·Kano·CPN-0147
UNICEF statement on sentencing of 13-year-old child to 10-years' imprisonment with 'menial labour' for blasphemy
A Kano State Sharia court convicted 13-year-old Omar Farouq of blasphemy on 10 August 2020, over words used in an argument with a friend, and sentenced him to ten years' imprisonment with menial labour. UNICEF said the sentence negated core principles of child rights; the conviction was quashed on appeal in January 2021.
- UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/press-releases/unicef-statement-sentencing-13-year-old-child-10-years-imprisonment-menial-labour
- CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/16/africa/blasphemy-nigeria-boy-sentenced-intl/index.html
- Sahara Reporters: https://saharareporters.com/2020/09/09/13-year-old-boy-sentenced-10-year-imprisonment-blasphemy-appeals-judgment
- 7 Aug 2020·National·CPN-0148
CAMA 2020: On the contentious Section 839
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 into law on 7 August 2020. Civil society organisations and religious bodies objected to Part F, which governs incorporated trustees, and in particular Section 839, which empowers the Corporate Affairs Commission to suspend trustees of an association and appoint interim managers.
- TheCable: https://www.thecable.ng/cama-2020-on-the-contentious-section-839/
- Vanguard: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/08/businesses-hail-cama-2020-as-pastors-howl-in-protest/
- Connected Development: https://www.connecteddevelopment.org/codes-position-nigerias-2020-companies-and-allied-matters-act-cama/
- 5 Aug 2020·National·CPN-0149
Nigeria: Police free 25 anti-government protesters
On 5 August 2020 police fired tear gas at #RevolutionNow protesters calling for good governance and arrested dozens in Abuja, Lagos, Abeokuta, Kano, Calabar and Osogbo. In Lagos, 25 protesters were released the next day after a magistrate court ordered their release.
- Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/8/6/nigeria-police-free-25-anti-government-protesters
- The Guardian Nigeria: https://guardian.ng/news/revolution-protests-rock-abuja-lagos/
- The Sun: https://thesun.ng/police-arrest-teargas-protesters-in-abuja-rivers-lagos-others/
- ARTICLE 19: https://www.article19.org/resources/nigeria-deteriorating-civic-space/
- 4 Aug 2020·National·CPN-0150
FG Launches Amended Broadcasting Code, Says Hate Speech Fine Now N5m
On 4 August 2020 Information Minister Lai Mohammed launched the amended sixth edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code in Lagos, raising the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to N5 million and upgrading hate speech and divisive political comments to a Class A offence. The chairman of the NBC board later said the minister had amended the code unilaterally.
How this report was compiled
Every record in this report is compiled by hand from reports published by named rights monitors, news outlets and official bodies, and links to the source it draws on. Each record is dated to the incident where its source gives that date, and otherwise to the date the source was published. The figures show what has been recorded, not the full extent of what has happened: incidents that were never reported do not appear, and a state with few records is not necessarily a state where little took place.