Civic Pulse Nigeria
Quarterly civic space report
Q2 2022
April to June 2022
Complete quarter. Generated 29 Sept 2026.
- Published records
- 5
- Change on Q1 2022
- +4
- States named
- 4
- Reporting organisations
- 5
5 civic space records were published for April to June 2022, against 1 in January to March 2022. Arrests and Detention was the most frequently recorded category.
Records by category
- Arrests & Detention2
- Harassment2
- Citizen Engagement1
- Government Discourse0
- Resource Access0
- Legal & Regulatory0
Where records were located
- Sokoto2
- Kano1
- Lagos1
- Ogun1
Who reported these incidents
- Rights monitors
- 2
- News outlets
- 3
- Official and court records
- 0
- Al Jazeera1
- Committee to Protect Journalists1
- Human Rights Watch1
- Sahara Reporters1
- Vanguard1
The records
- 19 Jun 2022·Lagos·CPN-0107
Hoodlums attack Sanwo-Olu's press crew bus at Akiolu's Palace
On June 19, 2022, thugs threw stones at a bus carrying journalists covering Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu's office as the convoy left the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, on Lagos Island. Adeola Ogunrinde of Western Post was wounded in the face, Omatseye Atsenuwa of Smooth 98.1 FM was struck on the arm by a stone, and Adedoja Salam of TVC went into shock; the bus windows were also damaged.
- 16 May 2022·Sokoto·CPN-0108
Student in Nigeria murdered over blasphemy allegation
On 12 May 2022 students at Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto killed fellow student Deborah Samuel, also known as Deborah Yakubu, over a WhatsApp message they considered blasphemous. They took her from a campus security post, beat her and set her body on fire. Police reported arresting two suspects.
- 14 May 2022·Sokoto·CPN-0109
Nigeria: curfew declared in Sokoto after student killing protests
Authorities declared a curfew in Sokoto after protests that followed the killing of student Deborah Samuel.
- 13 May 2022·Ogun·CPN-0110
Nigerian journalist detained after republishing article about Ogun state governor
On May 13, 2022, Department of State Security officers arrested Olamilekan Hammed Adewale Bashiru, founder of the EagleForeSight news website, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, after his outlet republished an article about Governor Dapo Abiodun's alleged 1986 fraud and forgery arrest in the United States. Bashiru said authorities denied him legal counsel, forced him to delete the article, and compelled a public apology, and he remained detained without formal charges.
- Committee to Protect Journalists: https://cpj.org/2022/05/nigerian-journalist-detained-after-republishing-article-about-ogun-state-governor/
- Amnesty International: https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2089578.html
- 5 Apr 2022·Kano·CPN-0111
Court sentences Kano atheist Mubarak Bala to 24 years in jail over blasphemy
The Kano State High Court sentenced Mubarak Bala, president of the Nigerian Humanist Association, to 24 years in prison on 18 counts under the Kano State Penal Code over Facebook posts deemed blasphemous. He had been arrested at his home in Kaduna State on 28 April 2020 and was held for 462 days before being charged. In May 2024 the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence to five years.
- Sahara Reporters: https://saharareporters.com/2022/04/05/court-sentences-kano-atheist-mubarak-bala-24-years-jail-over-blasphemy
- Humanists UK: https://humanists.uk/2022/04/05/nigerian-humanist-association-president-mubarak-bala-sentenced-to-24-years-in-prison-for-blasphemy/
- Humanists International: https://humanists.international/2024/05/nigeria-court-of-appeal-reduces-sentence-of-mubarak-bala/
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.