S4C Urges Joint Action as Civic Space Pressures Deepen in West Africa

Spaced for Change (S4C) has called on the judiciary, government institutions, private companies and civil society groups to work together to stop what it described as a steady decline in civic space across West Africa.

The organisation made the call in its report, Civic Space in West Africa: Trends, Threats & Futures, which says the regional environment for civic participation is under strain from state-backed surveillance, economic pressure, authoritarian practices and changing political dynamics.

The recommendations were discussed at a Civic Space and Private Sector Dialogue held in Lagos on February 27, 2025. S4C said the forum examined how private sector actors can help protect civic freedoms and digital rights in Nigeria’s rapidly changing technology environment.

A major recommendation in the report concerns the judiciary. S4C said courts can either protect rights or enable further restrictions, depending on judicial independence and institutional safeguards.

The group called for targeted engagement with judicial actors, transparent appointment processes and stronger protections against political interference in court decisions.

In her opening remarks, S4C Executive Director Victoria Ibezin-Ohaeri said the Ford Foundation-supported report tracks civic space trends in West Africa and compiles evidence in a database to help actors identify risks and shape coordinated responses.

Dr Amanim Akpabio, Associate Professor in the Department of Private Law at the University of Uyo, said Nigeria’s challenge is less about missing statutes and more about weak enforcement.

“We have a system of not solving problems,” he said. “A judge does something wrong, the government does something wrong, the legislature does something wrong and nothing is done about it. It becomes a circle of errors from different angles.”

After reviewing legal provisions, Akpabio said existing laws are often undermined by selective accountability and institutional inaction. He pointed to repeated disregard for court orders as one example of wider governance failure.

He also warned that courts can be weaponised when judicial actors are drawn into political interests and asked whether judges are sufficiently prepared to handle electronic evidence in modern cases.

“There are guidelines for judges regarding dealing with technology,” he said, “but are they adequately trained to manage electronic documents?”

He urged sustained capacity building for judges and judicial officers, including better application of international human rights and humanitarian law in counterterrorism and national security matters.

S4C further recommended reforms to counterterrorism and national security laws that can be abused, and said civil society should be included more directly in policy design.

At the dialogue, Abdullahi Abubakar Aliyu of NITDA said discussions on government surveillance should distinguish among agencies with different legal mandates. He acknowledged both state and private surveillance, saying surveillance may be accepted for crime control but should not be turned against citizens.

“If it is used to fight crime, people will be happy. But when it becomes a tool to fight Nigerians, it needs to be checked,” he said.

Aliyu said stronger local technology capacity and cooperation between government and civic groups could improve transparency and accountability.

Amarachi Okonkwo of GEPLaw said many civic space abuses are linked to surveillance actions without adequate legal basis and said constitutional privacy protections should guide deployment decisions.

“Our problem did not stem from the inadequacy of our laws. We have not tested the law,” she said, calling for more public interest litigation.

Linda Obaji of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission said multiple laws and agencies intersect on privacy issues and noted that certain technology deployments require impact assessments submitted to the commission.

Rotimi Ogunyemi, partner at BOC Legal, said regulatory gaps remain in emerging technologies and called for tighter control of surveillance technology imports and better judicial oversight.

Participants also shared personal testimonies. One attendee said he was allegedly monitored, detained and held for more than two months before release without findings of wrongdoing. Another said she was followed and threatened over public comments, which she said discouraged civic participation.

Beyond Nigeria, S4C urged stronger cross-border collaboration among West African civil society organisations, including regional support networks, resource hubs and resilience funds for activists, journalists and grassroots groups facing crackdowns.

At the close of the Lagos dialogue, participants agreed that legal protections already exist in many areas, but outcomes will depend on enforcement, oversight and coordinated action across institutions.