Civic Pulse Nigeria
Quarterly civic space report
Q4 2022
October to December 2022
Complete quarter. Generated 29 Sept 2026.
- Published records
- 6
- Change on Q3 2022
- +2
- States named
- 5
- Reporting organisations
- 6
6 civic space records were published for October to December 2022, against 4 in July to September 2022. Arrests and Detention was the most frequently recorded category.
Records by category
- Arrests & Detention3
- Harassment2
- Citizen Engagement1
- Government Discourse0
- Resource Access0
- Legal & Regulatory0
Where records were located
- Kano2
- Jigawa1
- Lagos1
- Taraba1
- Zamfara1
Who reported these incidents
- Rights monitors
- 1
- News outlets
- 5
- Official and court records
- 0
- CNN1
- Global Voices1
- Media Foundation for West Africa1
- Sahara Reporters1
- The National1
- Vanguard1
The records
- 27 Nov 2022·Taraba·CPN-0097
News publisher Ayodele Samuel illegally detained on orders of power-drunk Taraba State governor regains freedom
On November 27, 2022, police in Jalingo, Taraba State, arrested Ayodele Samuel, publisher of Taraba Truth and Facts newspaper and CEO of Rock FM Jalingo, on the orders of Governor Darius Ishaku over reports alleging corruption in the privatization of Mambilla Beverages Company and the sale of the state's Abuja liaison office. Samuel was arraigned on defamation and injurious-falsehood charges and, despite meeting bail conditions, was kept in prison until December 12 when the Federal High Court ordered the state to comply with a magistrates' court bail ruling.
- 8 Nov 2022·Jigawa·CPN-0098
Nigerian student arrested after calling First Lady 'fat from corruption' on Twitter
On November 8, 2022, police arrested final-year Federal University Dutse student Aminu Adamu Muhammed on the campus in Jigawa State over a June 2022 tweet in Hausa mocking First Lady Aisha Buhari as having "gotten fat on masses' money." Police took him to the Presidential Villa in Abuja before charging him with defamation, cyberstalking and conspiracy; he was remanded at Suleja prison and Amnesty International and SERAP called for his unconditional release.
- 7 Nov 2022·Kano·CPN-0099
Nigeria: TikTokers caned and ordered to wash toilets as court rules they defamed Nigerian governor
On 7 November 2022 a magistrate's court in Kano sentenced TikTok comedians Mubarak Isah Muhammad and Nazifi Muhammad Bala to 20 lashes each, a N10,000 fine and 30 days of cleaning the court premises over a skit portraying Governor Abdullahi Ganduje as corrupt, which the court ruled defamatory. Amnesty International called the sentence a violation of freedom of expression.
- CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/10/africa/tiktokers-flogged-kano-nigeria-intl
- Radio Nigeria: https://radionigeria.gov.ng/2022/11/07/tiktokers-flogged-for-mocking-govt-official/
- Channels Television: https://www.channelstv.com/2022/11/08/ganduje-amnesty-international-kicks-as-court-remands-kano-tiktok-users/
- Amnesty International UK: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/latest/nigeria-authorities-must-quash-appalling-flogging-sentence-tiktokers/
- 1 Nov 2022·Kano·CPN-0100
Court directs AIG to investigate Doguwa over alleged assault of journalist
On November 1, 2022, House of Representatives majority leader Alhassan Ado Doguwa allegedly assaulted Kano-based journalist Abdullahi Yakubu of Leadership newspaper at a press conference at Doguwa's residence in Kano, called after accusations that Doguwa had gate-crashed an APC meeting and harassed the party's deputy governorship candidate. Yakubu filed a criminal complaint, and the Chief Magistrate Court in Gyadi-Gyadi, Kano State, directed the police assistant inspector-general for Zone One to investigate; Doguwa later apologized to Yakubu in a radio interview.
- 20 Oct 2022·Lagos·CPN-0101
Nigeria's EndSARS rally met with tear gas from police
Police fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters gathered at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos to mark the second anniversary of the #EndSARS demonstrations. Amnesty International reported that more than 40 #EndSARS protesters were still in prison two years on.
- The National: https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/africa/2022/10/20/nigerias-endsars-rally-met-with-tear-gas-from-police/
- Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/10/20/in-nigeria-police-brutality-on-two-years-after-endsars-protests
- Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/10/nigeria-two-years-on-more-than-40-endsars-protesters-still-languishing-in-jail/
- 15 Oct 2022·Zamfara·CPN-0102
Nigerian state gov't shuts down media houses for covering opposition's rally
On 15 October 2022 the Zamfara State government shut down four broadcast stations - NTA, Pride FM, Gamji TV and Al-Umma TV - after they covered a rally of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. The governor's spokesman said they were punished for violating a government order and journalism practice; the Media Rights Agenda and the International Press Centre condemned the closures.
- Media Foundation for West Africa: https://mfwa.org/nigerian-state-govt-shuts-down-media-houses-for-covering-oppositions-rally/
- Channels Television: https://www.channelstv.com/2022/10/16/zamfara-govt-shuts-down-media-houses-for-breaking-journalism-laws/
- Africanews: https://www.africanews.com/2022/10/17/nigerias-zamfara-state-shuts-media-houses-for-covering-political-rally/
- Media Rights Agenda: https://mediarightsagenda.org/mra-condemns-shutdown-of-broadcast-stations-in-zamfara-state-says-it-should-never-be-repeated/
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.