Civic space actors, institutions under severe threat in Nigeria—Report

Statistics from a DataPhyte report have revealed that physical violence and restrictive legislation and policies were major crises civic space actors and institutions battled between 2016 and 2024.

The report, “Media reports of threats to civic space actors and institutions in Nigeria,” was released on Feb. 28, 2025, at the multi-stakeholders policy dialogue on the effect of insecurity on civic space. 

The DataPhyte Foundation and the Kimpact Development Initiative organised the event as part of the Free Civic Space Initiative implemented by the Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS). The group is a coalition of civil society organisations in Nigeria advocating for protecting civic space against attacks and threats through the support of Space for Change (S4C).

The analysis, which examined 274 coverage out of 2,784 in five leading national dailies: the Nigerian Tribune, the Guardian, Leadership, Daily Trust, and ThisDay, revealed a fragmented landscape in how newspapers report threats to civil space actors and institutions in the country.

Programmed queries and statistical analysis were used to assess the frequency, patterns, and nature of attacks reported in the findings, especially those impacting journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society organisations during conflicts, protests, and demonstrations. The analysis also looked at coverage of legal harassment, misinformation campaigns, censorship, and physical violence.

Tribune newspaper demonstrated the most pronounced focus on attacks against institutions, dedicating 7.4% of its coverage to this topic, higher than the Leadership, which only allocated 2.8%. Strikingly, the Guardian, Daily Trust, and ThisDay had minimal reports addressing attacks on institutions. 

Coverage of legal harassment was somewhat more evenly distributed, although still varied. Tribune and Leadership showed similar levels, while Daily Trust, ThisDay, and Guardian had varying percentages. 

Misinformation, disinformation, and smear campaigns against Nigeria’s civic space actors and institutions received minimal coverage. Regarding harassment and intimidation, the Leadership had the highest allocated coverage, 8.6%, Tribune allocating 4.9%, and The Guardian, Daily Trust, and ThisDay all allocating relatively low levels of coverage. 

ThisDay newspaper stood out with the most comprehensive coverage of legislation and policies, dedicating 47% of its reporting to the topic. The Guardian newspaper, at 47%, showed the highest focus on physical violence, while the Leadership newspaper reported 10% of its coverage of attacks during conflicts, protests, and demonstrations. The Daily Trust was the only paper to report attacks on family and associates and online attacks.

“The varying degrees of attention given to these threats across different newspapers show the need for a more consistent and comprehensive approach to reporting on issues affecting civic space,” said Seyi Olufemi, head of research at Dataphyte. 

“Our analysis, restricted to information obtained through specific queries of news websites within the defined time frame, means we likely haven’t captured every instance. This is a limitation but still reveals important trends and disparities.” 

He also revealed that the second edition will cover more geopolitical zones and sub-national newspapers. 

“We initially set out to have a minimum of 10 media houses spread across all the geopolitical zones, including the mainstream media and sub-nationals covering the South-East,” he said.

Mr Olufemi, elaborating on the iterative process of refining the data, said, “The tool we deployed, we had to do this like three times and come up with a vast amount of data.” He revealed that the team limited the study to ensure the accuracy of available findings before the deadline, as we were working with the AGFCS. 

Mr Olufemi added that the report’s findings have implications for understanding the challenges facing civic space in Nigeria. 

“One key insight is that the media plays a powerful role in shaping public perception of civil liberties and human rights,” he said. “The way these threats are framed, the language used, and the overall attention given to these issues can significantly impact public discourse and, ultimately, the safety and security of those working to uphold democratic values.”