Skip to content
Updates
NationalLegal & RegulatoryNigeria: NGO Bill and state overreach8 Sept 2026NationalLegal & RegulatoryForeign aid bill pits Senate against NGOs7 Sept 2026NationalLegal & RegulatoryNigeria: Foreign Aid Bill endangers civil society31 Aug 2026NationalLegal & RegulatoryHRW urges National Assembly to reject Foreign Aid Bill, warns of government control over NGOs31 Aug 2026NationalArrests & DetentionLawyer seeks UN human rights engagement over prolonged detention of activist Aghogho25 Aug 2026Federal Capital TerritoryArrests & DetentionCybercrime charge: Sowore kicks as DSS moves to foreclose his defence1 Aug 2026NationalCitizen EngagementCSOs urge National Assembly to withdraw bills threatening civic space1 Aug 2026NationalLegal & RegulatoryNigeria: Senate tightens noose on foreign aid, moves to bring NGOs under stricter oversight24 Jul 2026NationalArrests & DetentionAmnesty International demands immediate withdrawal of charges against Sowore23 Jul 2026NationalLegal & RegulatoryNBC to set up tribunal for broadcast violations19 Jul 2026Federal Capital TerritoryArrests & DetentionNigeria jails journalist for 2 months pending trial over corruption reporting1 Jul 2026NationalHarassment3 Nigerian journalists harassed with detention, summons, punitive bail conditions1 Jul 2026NationalCitizen EngagementHuman rights lawyers and activists petition Minister of Justice over Sowore trial30 Jun 2026NationalLegal & RegulatoryNigeria: DSS, N100m SERAP verdict and national debate over civic space and free speech29 Jun 2026NigeriaALERTForeign Aid Bill advances as civil society urges withdrawal8 Sept 2026NigeriaANALYSISThe SERAP judgment and the cost of reporting state conduct29 Jun 2026
Civic PulseNigeria
← All reportsDownload PDF
Citizens Voices Initiative For Civic Knowledge

Civic Pulse Nigeria

Quarterly civic space report

Q4 2020

October to December 2020

Complete quarter. Generated 29 Sept 2026.

Published records
10
Change on Q3 2020
+4
States named
3
Reporting organisations
7

10 civic space records were published for October to December 2020, against 6 in July to September 2020. Harassment and Intimidation was the most frequently recorded category. 3 of these came from reports written at national level that name no state.

Records by category

  • Harassment5
  • Arrests & Detention2
  • Government Discourse1
  • Resource Access1
  • Legal & Regulatory1
  • Citizen Engagement0

Where records were located

  • Lagos4
  • Federal Capital Territory2
  • Oyo1

Plus 3 national-level records naming no state.

Who reported these incidents

Rights monitors
2
News outlets
8
Official and court records
0
  • Channels Television2
  • Sahara Reporters2
  • Vanguard2
  • Amnesty International1
  • CNN1
  • Committee to Protect Journalists1
  • TechCabal1

The records

  1. 31 Dec 2020·Federal Capital Territory·CPN-0135

    BREAKING: Sowore, Others Arrested In Abuja

    On 31 December 2020 police arrested activist Omoyele Sowore and other protesters at Gudu junction in Abuja during a New Year's Eve protest against bad governance. The Nigeria Police Force said he had led protesters into a restricted area in defiance of a court order; Sowore and four others were later arraigned over the protest.

  2. 19 Nov 2020·National·CPN-0136

    Nigeria threatens CNN with sanctions but provides no evidence the Lekki toll gate reporting is inaccurate

    At a press conference in Abuja on 19 November 2020, Information Minister Lai Mohammed called CNN's investigation into the Lekki toll gate shooting fake news and irresponsible journalism, said CNN should be sanctioned, and described the incident as a massacre without bodies. CNN said it stood by its reporting.

  3. 7 Nov 2020·Lagos·CPN-0137

    BREAKING: Nigeria Police Arrest #EndSARS Promoter In Lagos

    On 7 November 2020 police arrested #EndSARS campaigner Eromosele Adene at his residence in Ikeja, Lagos, after he called for a protest. He was held for eight days before being arraigned in Lagos on charges including criminal incitement and cyberstalking.

  4. 1 Nov 2020·Lagos·CPN-0138

    Eight Days Later, #EndSARS Lawyer, Activist Gets Her Passport Back

    On 1 November 2020 the Nigeria Immigration Service seized the passport of Modupe (Moe) Odele, a lawyer who provided legal aid to #EndSARS protesters, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos as she prepared to travel. She was told she was under investigation by an intelligence agency; the passport was returned eight days later.

  5. 26 Oct 2020·National·CPN-0139

    #EndSARS: NBC fines Arise TV, AIT, Channels Television for unprofessional coverage

    On 26 October 2020 the National Broadcasting Commission fined Arise TV, AIT and Channels Television N3 million each over their coverage of the #EndSARS protests, accusing them of airing unverified social media footage, including of the Lekki toll gate shooting. The Media Rights Agenda and the International Press Centre called on the NBC to withdraw the fines.

  6. 24 Oct 2020·Lagos·CPN-0140

    Nigerian authorities must account for death of journalist Onifade Emmanuel Pelumi

    Pelumi Onifade, a 20-year-old reporter with the online broadcaster Gboah TV, was last seen alive on 24 October 2020 in the custody of security officers in Ikeja, Lagos, where he had gone to cover an attempted break-in at a government facility during the #EndSARS unrest. His body was later found in a mortuary in Ikorodu; in June 2026 a Lagos DNA report to a coroner's court confirmed the body was his.

  7. 20 Oct 2020·Lagos·CPN-0141

    Nigeria: Killing of #EndSARS protesters by the military must be investigated

    On the evening of 20 October 2020 soldiers of the Nigerian Army opened fire on unarmed #EndSARS protesters gathered at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos. Amnesty International reported that at least 12 protesters were killed. The Lagos State judicial panel of inquiry later found that soldiers shot, injured and killed unarmed protesters without provocation or justification.

  8. 14 Oct 2020·Federal Capital Territory·CPN-0142

    Armed thugs attack #EndSARS protesters in Abuja

    On 14 October 2020 men armed with machetes and sticks attacked #EndSARS protesters gathered at Berger roundabout in Abuja, injuring some demonstrators and vandalising vehicles. The FCT Commissioner of Police said five vehicles were vandalised and described the incident as a clash between protesters for and against SARS.

  9. 13 Oct 2020·National·CPN-0143

    #EndSARS: Government forces allegedly attempting to sabotage crowdfunding efforts

    During the #EndSARS protests the Feminist Coalition, which was raising donations to support the protests, reported that its bank account had been deactivated and its Flutterwave donation link shut down. The coalition asked supporters to donate in bitcoin instead; Flutterwave denied that the Central Bank had questioned it over the donations.

  10. 10 Oct 2020·Oyo·CPN-0144

    #EndSars: Young Nigerian Jimoh Isiaq Killed In Ogbomosho, Seven Others Injured

    On 10 October 2020 Jimoh Isiaq, 20, was shot dead in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, when police dispersed #EndSARS protesters; seven other people were injured. He died at Bowen University Teaching Hospital. Police denied shooting at anyone; Amnesty International said he was shot by the police.

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.

Civic Pulse Nigeria · an initiative of Citizens Voices Initiative For Civic Knowledge (CVICK)Q4 2020 report