The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has issued a stern warning to the National Assembly, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the proposed Nigeria Data Protection Amendment Bill 2026 or face legal action.
In a letter dated July 18, 2026, addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, SERAP described the bill as a backdoor attempt to regulate social media and expand government control over online expression. The letter was signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko of the All Progressives Congress from Delta North, seeks to compel social media platforms, data controllers and data processors operating in Nigeria to establish physical offices in the country. It also empowers the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to shut down or prohibit the operations of any entity that fails to comply within 30 days.
SERAP argued that the proposed legislation would create sweeping powers capable of shutting down or excluding social media platforms from the Nigerian market, exposing millions of Nigerians to serious violations of their constitutionally and internationally guaranteed human rights. The organisation warned that requirements compelling technology companies to establish local offices would increase government leverage over platforms, facilitate political pressure, make censorship demands easier and expose local employees to retaliation.
The rights group noted that the current bill revives substantially similar proposals previously introduced by Senator Nwoko, raising renewed concerns that localisation requirements are being used as a vehicle for expanding governmental control over digital platforms and online expression.
SERAP also cited the judgment of the ECOWAS Court of Justice on Nigeria's suspension of Twitter in 2021, arguing that the proposed amendment could produce similar consequences by indirectly excluding social media platforms from operating in the country. In the case of SERAP and Others v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, the court held that the suspension of Twitter violated the rights to freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom protected under the African Charter. Although the present bill differs from the Twitter suspension in form, it creates the possibility of achieving the same result indirectly by empowering regulators to prohibit digital platforms from operating in Nigeria.
The organisation maintained that the bill lacks provisions for prior judicial authorisation, meaningful opportunities for compliance beyond the proposed 30-day period, and adequate safeguards to protect the rights of millions of Nigerians who rely on digital platforms for communication, business, education and civic engagement. It further argued that there is no evidence that existing provisions under the Nigeria Data Protection Act are inadequate or that the proposed measures satisfy the constitutional tests of necessity and proportionality.
SERAP warned that the legislation would undermine Nigeria's digital economy by increasing compliance costs for startups, artificial intelligence developers, educational institutions and smaller technology firms, making the country less attractive for innovation and investment. The organisation insisted that the bill is incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution as well as Nigeria's obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In a clear threat of legal action, SERAP stated that should the bill be enacted into law in its current or substantially similar form, it shall promptly take all appropriate legal actions to challenge its legality in the public interest and to ensure that Nigerians' fundamental rights are fully protected. The organisation urged the National Assembly to avoid imposing localisation requirements that unnecessarily burden digital services and undermine citizens' rights, insisting that measures regulating digital services should enhance transparency, accountability and users' rights rather than create additional tools for censorship, surveillance or political interference.
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