Civic Pulse Nigeria
Quarterly civic space report
Q1 2024
January to March 2024
Complete quarter. Generated 29 Sept 2026.
- Published records
- 3
- Change on Q4 2023
- -1
- States named
- 3
- Reporting organisations
- 3
3 civic space records were published for January to March 2024, against 4 in October to December 2023. Citizen Engagement and Policy Influence was the most frequently recorded category.
Records by category
- Citizen Engagement1
- Arrests & Detention1
- Legal & Regulatory1
- Government Discourse0
- Resource Access0
- Harassment0
Where records were located
- Kwara1
- Lagos1
- Niger1
Who reported these incidents
- Rights monitors
- 1
- News outlets
- 2
- Official and court records
- 0
- Committee to Protect Journalists1
- Leadership1
- Sahara Reporters1
The records
- 28 Mar 2024·Lagos·CPN-0081
Lagos-based editor Segun Olatunji, abducted by gunmen in military uniform, regains freedom
About 15 armed men, two in military-style uniform, took FirstNews editor Segun Olatunji from his home in Alagbado, Lagos on 15 March 2024 and flew him blindfolded to Abuja, where he was held by the Defence Intelligence Agency. He was released without charge on 28 March 2024 after 14 days. His outlet linked the detention to its reporting on the Chief of Staff to the President.
- Sahara Reporters: https://saharareporters.com/2024/03/28/lagos-based-editor-segun-olatunji-who-was-abducted-gunmen-military-uniform-regains
- Committee to Protect Journalists: https://cpj.org/2024/03/armed-men-take-nigerian-journalist-segun-olatunji-from-lagos-home/
- Channels Television: https://www.channelstv.com/2024/04/27/i-was-accused-of-terrorism-whereabouts-of-my-source-unknown-journalist-olatunji-recounts-ordeal/
- 14 Feb 2024·Kwara·CPN-0082
CPJ welcomes acquittal of Nigerian journalists Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi and calls for legal reform
On 14 February 2024 the Kwara State High Court set aside the February 2023 magistrate court conviction of journalists Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi for criminal defamation and conspiracy, ruling the offences were not proved and criticising a police investigation report that pre-dated their arrest.
- Committee to Protect Journalists: https://cpj.org/2024/03/cpj-welcomes-acquittal-of-nigerian-journalists-gidado-yushau-and-alfred-olufemi-and-calls-for-legal-reform/
- Premium Times: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/671006-alleged-defamation-court-acquits-journalists-chides-police-magistrate-over-shoddy-trial.html
- Media Foundation for West Africa: https://mfwa.org/country-highlights/fighting-impunity-appeals-court-overturns-conviction-of-two-journalists-after-a-year/
- 5 Feb 2024·Niger·CPN-0083
JUST-IN: Police Arrest 25 Suspects Over Minna Protest Against Hunger, Cost Of Living
On 5 February 2024 women led by Aisha Jibrin blocked the Minna-Bida road at Kpakungu roundabout in Minna, Niger State, to protest rising food prices and hardship. Police arrested Jibrin and 24 others in connection with the protest; the Niger State government later ordered her release.
- Leadership: https://leadership.ng/just-in-police-arrest-25-suspects-over-minna-protest-against-hunger-cost-of-living/
- Channels Television: https://www.channelstv.com/2024/02/09/niger-government-orders-release-of-woman-who-led-minna-protest/
- Legit.ng: https://www.legit.ng/nigeria/1577610-niger-police-arrest-25-protesting-high-cost-living-hunger/
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.