The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has threatened legal action against Nigeria’s National Assembly unless it withdraws a bill campaigners say could be used to shut social media platforms out of the country.
In a letter dated July 18 to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, SERAP described the Nigeria Data Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2026, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko, as a “backdoor attempt to regulate social media.” The bill would require platforms like Facebook, X, TikTok and Instagram to establish physical offices in Nigeria, empowering the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to shut down non-compliant platforms within 30 days.
SERAP argued the bill lacks judicial oversight or a meaningful appeal process and could achieve indirectly what the ECOWAS Court of Justice already ruled unlawful when Nigeria suspended Twitter in 2021. The group said the legislation revives a substantially similar proposal Nwoko introduced previously, which drew significant public opposition.
SERAP warned the bill would raise compliance costs for startups and smaller tech firms while damaging Nigeria’s standing as an investment destination, and said it would pursue “all appropriate legal actions” if the bill passes in its current form.
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