Nigeria is a West African federal republic with an estimated population in 2022 of almost 217 million people, making it Africa’s most populous state. It also has the continent’s largest economy. The country was a British colony until “strike actions, newspaper press and propaganda, trade unionism, boycott, and mass migration” caused “a great setback to the colonial administration… forcing Britain to relinquish political authority” on 1 October 1960. ¹

There is a three-tier political system, comprised of federal, state and local governments. The president holds “enormous executive power at the federal level”, as do governors in each of the 36 federal states. ² The current president is Bola Tinbu, who was elected in February 2023. The country plays a key role in regional and continental politics, and has enthusiastically engaged with the global security architecture.

The country has been under military rule three times since independence, with the current democratic system put in place in 1999. There have also been an array of armed insurgencies and conflicts over the years, including against oil companies in the Niger delta region (by MEND, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta).

Since 2009, the radical Islamist group Boko Haram has been active in the north-east, leading to “thousands of deaths and injuries” and “numerous human rights abuses,” alongside the internal displacement of more than two million people, and some 330,000 refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries. ¹ In 2016, a splinter group set up the ‘West African Province of the Islamic State’ tied to international Sunni factions. Attempts to suppress Boko Haram are central to the country’s counter-terrorism policies.

International organisations, foreign governments and organisations and activists within Nigeria have raised multiple concerns over the government’s violations of human rights, in particular by military and police forces. These include violence, illegal arrests and deprivation of liberty, arbitrary killings, torture and disappearances, in both counter-terrorism and other contexts. ² There have been occasional investigations and punishment of such acts, though this is far from being the norm. ³

3Police violence and impunity triggered the nationwide #EndSARS movement in 2020, which called for the abolition of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and other police reforms. During the protests, at least 56 people were killed by the army and police, and Amnesty International reported in March 2022 that many arrested protesters remained “locked up in jails while several others face trumped-up charges.” ⁴ The government did however abolish the SARS unit in October 2020, but just days afterwards 12 protesters were shot and killed by police in Lagos:

Following the incident, the government of Nigeria ordered all of its states to look into the abuses and create panels of inquiry. Some states did not comply with the request and none have made any of the findings available to the public. Furthermore, many panels have been discontinued and none have brought about justice for victims of SARS who sought it.

The government has also on occasion blocked websites, with the blocking of Twitter in June 2021 making international headlines. Access was not restored until the following January. ⁵ Freedom House has reported on government agencies purchasing spyware allowing them to monitor cell phone calls, texts, and geolocation.

The civil society organisation Spaces4Change has raised serious concerns over Nigeria’s terrorist designation procedures, which are based on executive decisions rather than open judicial hearings. They note that: “Despite the irregularities in inherent in this designation procedure, request by some designated group for the reversal of the proscription order has been refused.” ⁶

The country has had specific counter-terrorism laws in place since at least 2011, with amendments introduced in 2013 and again in 2022. The 2022 law “made capital punishment the maximum sentence for certain terrorist offences. There is a carve-out in the law for the exercise of the fundamental human right of peaceful protest.” ⁷ However, civil society groups have reported that counter-terrorism laws have been used to stifle civic space, in particular with regard to financial and administrative reporting obligations for independent organisations. ⁸

Amnesty International has noted that the 2022 law “contains provisions which violate Nigeria’s Constitution and international human rights obligations,” as it allows terrorism suspects to be held longer than the 48 hours set out in the constitution. The law “also grants the military arbitrary powers to arrest and detain people.” ⁹ There have been extreme and widespread human rights abuses committed by state security forces sent to counter the Boko Haram insurgency. ¹⁰

Nigeria’s compliance with international counter-terrorism norms has been assessed twice by the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, in 2015 and 2022. Successive governments have sought to position the country as a key player in implementing and supporting global counter-terrorism norms.

In March 2022, the government inaugurated a new National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC). Speaking at the event, retired Major-General Babagana Monguno, the country’s National Security Advisor, reportedly said it would “further enhance Nigeria’s contribution to global counterterrorism policy and practice efforts and give impetus to Nigeria’s internal, bilateral, and multilateral cooperation and collaboration in tackling the terrorism and violent extremism.” ¹

Travel surveillance

In August 2023, the NCTC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UNOCT “to enhance collaboration… on security and counter-terrorism initiatives, including countering terrorist travel, border and maritime security, and delivery of counter-terrorism trainings in Nigeria.”

A second, related MoU was signed at the same time, between UNOCT and Nigeria’s Office of the National Security Advisor. This formalised longstanding cooperation between the two entities on counter-terrorism policies, and made Nigeria a partner of the UN Countering Terrorist Travel scheme. Work under the MoU would “build up Nigeria’s capacities to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences by collecting and analyzing both API and PNR data,” said a press release. ¹

The cooperation appears to have borne fruit. In April 2024, Nigeria hosted a “High-Level African Counter-Terrorism Meeting,” attended by multiple UN and national officials. A UN press release gushed: “Nigeria’s leadership and convening power was being demonstrated through the participation of four Presidents, 10 Ministers, and eight national security advisors from 29 African Member States.” ²

The following month, two government ministers opened a new office dedicated to processing API and PNR data. The API and PNR systems are reportedly integrated with Interpol databases and the MIDAS hardware and software supplied by the International Organization for Migration. ³ The office was subsequently integrated into a more extensive complex, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex, which was opened by the country’s president – one Bola Ahmed Tinubu – in December 2024.

The interior minister, Olunbunmi Tunji-Olo, said during an interview that the launch of the country’s travel data system allows “the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to pre-profile individuals at various entry points, preventing terrorists and people with questionable backgrounds from gaining entry into Nigeria.” ⁴

Speaking some months later, Tunji-Olo emphasised that too much trust had been placed in the subjective assessments of officials, and that the country was seeking to integrate national and international databases to ensure “objective” screening methods. “We do not want foreign attachés approving and issuing visas. It is not going to be that any more, we want to be able to screen people more,” he said. ⁵

Screening people “more” will certainly be feasible with these new arrangements. However, the widespread misuse of international police databases, and the difficulty in obtaining redress for people wrongfully placed on terrorism watchlists, calls into questions Tunji-Olo’s faith in the objective nature of these systems.

The integration of different national databases also appears to be one aim of the Technology Innovation Complex, which brings together:

• the API and PNR “command and control centre”;
• the Nigeria Immigration Service Data Center;
• the ECOWAS Biometric Card Production Centre; and
• the Interior Data Centre, which “facilitates real-time monitoring and surveillance of border activities using advanced technologies such as CCTV, drones, and sensors.” ⁶

This digitalisation of the country’s borders, along with other state sectors and the economy and society more broadly, has raised questions over the country’s ability to effectively protect personal data. There have been a number of high-profile data breaches, including of thousands of citizens’ national identification numbers. ⁷

Data protection

In 2023, the country adopted a comprehensive Data Protection Act. On the fact of it, it appears that non-citizens and those visiting the country whose travel data is handed over to the authorities are covered by the Act. The law defines “data subject” as “an individual to whom personal data relates,” and states that the law applies when the:

(a) data controller or data processor is domiciled in, resident in, or operating in Nigeria;

(b) processing of personal data occurs within Nigeria; or

(c) the data controller or the data processor is not domiciled in, resident in, or operating in Nigeria, but is processing personal data of a data subject in Nigeria.

A report by Accountability Lab Nigeria, a civil society organisation based in Abuja considers how current data protection laws in Nigeria can safeguards against surveillance abuse. It concludes that “discretion granted to certain government officials to intercept communications weakens the effectiveness of the data protection laws in Nigeria.”

The NGO lays out a series of recommendation for the government, citizens, civil society, media and the private sectors for a greater engagement with the existing framework to limit abuse and better enforceability of existing protection. ¹