Tony Ojukwu warns that fragmented complaint handling, unclear referral channels, weak digital-evidence procedures and delays could undermine effective protection of Nigerians’ rights online.
By A1NEWS International
ABUJA, September 18, 2026 — The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called for the establishment of a coordinated national response system to address digital rights violations, warning that fragmented institutional responses could leave victims without swift and effective remedies.
Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, made the call at a multi-stakeholder convening on “Building a Coordinated Response System for Digital Rights Violations,” organised with AccountabilityLab Nigeria and other partners.
Ojukwu said Nigeria’s expanding digital ecosystem has become central to civic engagement, investigative journalism, democratic dialogue and the exercise of constitutional freedoms, making the protection of rights in the online environment increasingly important.
The NHRC chief posed a fundamental question to stakeholders: whether Nigeria currently has a sufficiently coordinated framework to respond swiftly, effectively and accountably when citizens’ rights are violated through or within the digital ecosystem.
According to him, the existing response mechanism still suffers from significant operational gaps.
The NHRC Executive Secretary identified fragmented responses among institutions, ambiguous referral pathways, inadequate standardisation in digital evidence preservation and procedural delays in high-stakes cases as some of the challenges confronting effective digital rights protection.
Fragmented Response Threatens Effective Remedies
Ojukwu observed that while civil society organisations document alleged abuses, the media exposes systemic violations and lawyers pursue legal remedies, the different interventions frequently operate without sufficient coordination.
He said the lack of clear institutional hand-offs can delay the movement of complaints from documentation to investigation and ultimately to remedy.
The proposed response architecture is therefore intended to connect relevant institutions and stakeholders, rather than leaving victims to navigate disconnected systems.
The NHRC said the Commission is prepared to serve as an anchor for such collaborative arrangements under its statutory mandate to receive and investigate human rights violations, pursue remedies for victims and work with governmental and non-governmental actors.
Digital Rights Remain Constitutional Rights
The Commission stressed that constitutional protections do not disappear when citizens move from physical spaces to digital platforms.
Ojukwu cited constitutional protections for the dignity of the human person, privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly and association, maintaining that these protections apply equally online and offline.
He argued that measures designed to address cybercrime, national security and online harms must therefore operate within constitutional safeguards, due process requirements and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The position places digital governance at the intersection of competing public interests: protecting citizens and national security while preserving lawful expression, privacy, access to information and civic participation.
2024 Cybercrimes Amendment Raises Rights-Protection Questions
Ojukwu also drew attention to the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act of 2024, particularly the revision of Section 24.
He said interventions under the amended law must remain consistent with current legal requirements and cautioned that enforcement of legitimate security objectives should not inadvertently restrict constitutionally protected speech, access to information or civic space.
He further called for rights-based scrutiny of digital surveillance, data privacy, platform moderation and network availability.
The emphasis reflects the increasingly complex regulatory environment surrounding Nigeria’s digital space, where law enforcement, technology companies, telecommunications operators, regulators and rights organisations may have overlapping responsibilities.
2027 Elections Could Test Nigeria’s Digital Rights Framework
With Nigeria moving towards the 2027 electoral cycle, the NHRC said the need for a functional digital-rights response mechanism has become more urgent.
According to Ojukwu, the digital ecosystem is expected to play a central role in political discourse, voter mobilisation and public accountability during the electoral period.
He said stakeholders must consequently work to protect both the integrity of democratic processes and the constitutional rights of citizens participating in them.
This places particular importance on the ability of institutions to respond to complaints involving online expression, digital surveillance, privacy, platform decisions and other forms of digital rights infringement without compromising due process.
NHRC Outlines Seven-Point Response Framework
Ojukwu challenged participants at the convening to move beyond general recommendations and agree on practical mechanisms that can be implemented across institutions.
The framework proposed by the NHRC includes:
1. Clear Intake Mechanisms:
Standardising which institutions receive and assess initial complaints.
2. Defined Referral Pathways:
Creating clear procedures for transferring cases between institutions, supported by specified resolution timelines.
3. Escalation Protocols:
Establishing fast-track channels for urgent or high-risk threats.
4. Evidentiary Standards:
Developing uniform criteria for documenting and preserving digital evidence.
5. Protection Frameworks:
Protecting complainants, victims and whistleblowers against reprisals.
6. Data Security Protocols:
Facilitating secure and privacy-compliant information sharing among participating organisations.
7. Strategic and Policy Intervention:
Establishing triggers for statutory, judicial or public-interest intervention while using emerging trends to inform legislative reform.
Ripoti Platform Proposed as Operational Bridge
A significant component of the proposed architecture is the integration of the Ripoti platform into the coordinated response system.
Ojukwu said the platform should go beyond simply documenting complaints and instead function as a mechanism connecting reporting, referral, remedies and broader institutional reform.
He, however, stressed that any such integration must incorporate strict data privacy safeguards for affected individuals.
The implication is that technology designed to protect digital-rights victims must itself be governed by strong privacy and information-security standards.
NHRC Demands Sustained Institutional Coordination
The Commission also warned against treating the convening as a one-off engagement.
Ojukwu proposed designated institutional focal points, secure communication channels, quarterly review mechanisms, joint strategic advocacy and sustained collaboration with civil society as mechanisms for maintaining the response system after the meeting.
He said the success of the initiative should ultimately be measured not by the number of recommendations produced, but by whether victims can obtain swift, safe and effective justice, whether institutions can work together seamlessly and whether recurring violations lead to structural reforms.
From Documentation to Remedy
The NHRC Executive Secretary said the Commission remains committed to leading the process and ensuring that Nigeria’s digital transformation advances alongside human dignity, constitutional rights and the rule of law.
He urged stakeholders to move away from fragmented and ad-hoc responses towards a sustainable institutional framework.
In his closing message, Ojukwu summarised the intended direction of the initiative as a transition “from fragmentation to coordination,” “from documentation to remedy,” and “from ad-hoc responses to sustainable institutional reform.”
The NHRC’s intervention highlights a growing governance challenge: digital rights violations may involve multiple institutions, but victims often encounter systems that are not sufficiently interconnected.
The proposed framework seeks to close that gap by establishing clearer complaint channels, defined institutional responsibilities, faster escalation procedures, common evidentiary standards and stronger protections for victims and whistleblowers.
With the 2027 electoral cycle approaching, the effectiveness of such a system could become particularly significant as political participation, public debate and civic engagement increasingly take place online.
For the framework to produce measurable results, however, the proposed mechanisms will need to translate from stakeholder commitments into clearly assigned responsibilities, enforceable timelines, secure information-sharing arrangements and accessible remedies for affected citizens.
Leave a Reply