Stakeholders Want Digital Rights, Freedom Bill Passed

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Paradigm Initiative (PIN) have called on the federal government to prioritize the passage of the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill.

They highlighted the importance of upholding individuals’ rights in the digital space and emphasised the need for the government to recognise and protect citizens’ rights online, as they would in the physical world.

At a press conference yesterday in Abuja, the executive secretary of NHRC, Dr Tony Ojukwu, represented by the director of Legal Services and Enforcement, Rabi Auwalu Anwar, said the digital space has become an integral part of everyday life for many Nigerians.

He said without adequate legislation in place, there is a risk of abuse and infringement of digital rights.

He said PIN, through its Digital Policy Engagement Series (DiPES), engaged stakeholders to examine, review, and hold discussions focused on the Digital Rights and Freedoms Bill (DRFB).

The conference, supported by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between PIN and NHRC to commit to advocating for digital rights.

He stressed the need for laws that protect freedom of expression, privacy, and access to information online.

He said, “It is necessary to establish measures that uphold the sanctity of citizens’ rights. The enactment and passage of the digital rights and freedoms bill would have positioned Nigeria as a leader in the protection of digital rights and online freedoms as the bill is oriented towards safeguarding the rights of Nigerian internet users.”

On his part, the executive director of PIN, Gbenga Sesan, noted that the bill was sent to the National Assembly in 2016 and passed by the two Chambers, but when it got to the table of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign it into law, he declined to sign the bill.

He said what they did was to go back and look at some of the reasons they gave for not signing the bill, readjust the bill and reintroduce it to the 9th National Assembly.