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For more than three years, residents of Bani in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State have endured the consequences of illegal lithium mining. According to community members, these operations have destroyed farmland, disrupted livelihoods, and heightened fears of violence.
As the crisis deepened, residents faced another obstacle: they struggled to reach their elected representatives in the State House of Assembly to raise their concerns and seek urgent government intervention.
Community members told DUBAWA that they repeatedly sought intervention from Ahmed Saidu Baba, who represents their constituency in the Kwara State House of Assembly, but could not reach him.
Official portrait of Hon. Ahmed Saidu Baba — Source: Kwara State House of Assembly
They said they submitted petitions to his constituency office and made several other attempts to draw his attention to the worsening situation. Their efforts to contact him through an official digital channel provided by the Kwara State House of Assembly also failed.
The official email address listed for Baba on the Assembly’s portal, gwanabegweriabaniadena@hoa.kw.gov.ng, was non-functional when residents attempted to use it.
Describing the impact of illegal lithium mining and what he said was the government’s failure to intervene, one resident, Jamal Olamilekan, said the activities had devastated farmlands and heightened insecurity in the community.
“Illegal lithium mining has destroyed our farmlands, brought armed violence into our town and nearby villages, and left us living in constant fear,” Olamilekan said.
He added that residents had repeatedly tried to draw the government’s attention to the problem, but their efforts had yielded little response.
“We have tried to speak to the government about this problem, but they seem not to be bothered about it, and this is making this illegal business continue to grow,” he said.
“Our honourable (Ahmed Saidu Baba) is the only person who can take this issue up for us and present it as a motion in the House of Assembly, but he cannot be reached. Only his political loyalists can reach him,” he added.
DUBAWA’s experience attempting to contact Saidu Baba corroborated his constituents’ claims that his listed email address was not functional. The only contact information provided on the State House of Assembly’s website was an email address that returned an error saying it could not be found or could not receive messages.
Screenshot showing Hon. Ahmed’s official email address not working
‘A Community Struggles To Reach Its Lawmaker’
What happened in Bani is far from isolated.
In Gidan Yaro, a community in Wamakko Local Government Area of Sokoto State, residents are struggling with poor school facilities and say they have been unable to reach their elected representative for help.
Machido Abubakar, a local youth leader, described the condition of the community’s only primary school. “Our education situation is very bad,” he told DUBAWA. “The school has just one block of two classrooms, with no desks or chairs for the pupils.”
He said the poor conditions had affected school enrolment, while repeated appeals for government intervention had yielded little response.
Gidan Yaro Community — Credit: Abdulwasiu Olokooba
Gidan Yaro Primary School — Credit: Abdulwasiu Olokooba
The community’s hopes for intervention grew in 2025, when residents heard that the Sokoto State Government was identifying underserved communities for educational support.
“After Eid-il-Fitr in 2025, word was going around town that the governor wanted a comprehensive list of communities in serious need of educational investment,” Abubakar said.
Residents wanted to contact their representative at the State House of Assembly, Lamido Abubakar, to ensure their community was considered, but they could not find a phone number or email address through which to reach him, according to Abubakar.
Machido said the community consequently missed out on a state government N8.3billion intervention announced in August 2025.
Fallen ceiling at Gidan Yaro Primary — Credit: Abdulwasiu Olokooba
When DUBAWA visited Gidan Yaro on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, to examine the school’s condition, the facilities remained in disrepair. During the visit, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., the two-classroom block had no desks or chairs, and no students or teachers were present. The classrooms had cracked walls and collapsed ceilings.
Cracked Wall at Gidan Yaro Primary — Credit: Abdulwasiu Olokooba
For residents of the G/Bubu/G/Yaro electoral ward, the situation reflected more than inadequate school facilities. It also raised questions about whether communities could reach the lawmakers elected to represent their interests and help them seek government intervention.
“We just want a school where our kids can sit and learn,” Abubakar said. “When a community suffers, its people need a direct line to their representative. Without that, our problems never reach those who can truly fix them.”
Gidan Yaro’s experience echoes concerns raised in Bani, where residents also said they struggled to reach their elected representative while seeking help with community problems.
A nationwide investigation by DUBAWA between May and September 2026 revealed widespread failures in digital accessibility and public responsiveness across Nigeria’s 36 State Houses of Assembly. To test how easy it is for citizens to access lawmakers, DUBAWA emailed every state assembly requesting official contact channels and guidelines for constituent reporting. Beyond the digital realm, DUBAWA submitted physical Freedom of Information (FOI) petitions to seven state legislatures to benchmark offline responsiveness and adherence to legal disclosure mandates.
17 State Assemblies Have No Official Emails
For four months, DUBAWA examined the official digital presence of all 36 State Houses of Assembly to determine whether citizens could find publicly accessible institutional email addresses to contact their lawmakers and the assemblies.
The investigation reviewed the state legislatures’ official websites and their social media presence, particularly on Facebook, to assess how the institutions use digital channels to communicate with citizens and provide avenues for public engagement.
The findings show a significant gap in digital accessibility. Of the 36 State Houses of Assembly examined, 17 (47.2%) had no publicly identifiable official email address through which citizens could directly contact the institution on the platforms reviewed.
The affected states are Adamawa, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Ondo, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara.
Nine State Assemblies Have Non-Functional Email Addresses
A publicly listed email address does not necessarily mean you can reach a State House of Assembly.
DUBAWA found that nine of the 19 State Houses of Assembly with publicly identifiable email addresses had non-functional accounts during the investigation. Emails sent to the addresses were returned as undeliverable, with error messages indicating that the addresses or their associated domains could not be found.
For example, an email sent to Ekiti State House of Assembly’s listed address, info@ekha.gov.ng, was returned with the message: “Address not found. Your message wasn’t delivered to info@ekha.gov.ng because the domain ekha.gov.ng couldn’t be found. Check for typos or unnecessary spaces and try again.”
Screenshot showing Ekiti House of Assembly email not working
The nine affected assemblies were Ekiti, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara, Nasarawa, Osun, Rivers and Sokoto.
The investigation identified the following email addresses for the affected institutions: info@ekha.gov.ng for Ekiti; clerk@imha.state.gov.ng for Imo; speaker@jigawastate.gov.ng for Jigawa; info@kanoassembly.gov.ng for Kano; Ileshagwanara@hoa.kw.gov.ng for Kwara; clerk@nsha.gov.ng for Nasarawa; info@osunassembly.osunstate.gov.ng for Osun; clerk@hoa.rv.gov.ng for Rivers; and sohasokoto@yahoo.com for Sokoto.
DUBAWA obtained the email addresses from sources including official legislative websites, state government websites, and Facebook pages.
Working Emails, But Eight Assemblies Fail To Respond
Beyond the nine assemblies with non-functional email accounts, eight others had working email addresses but did not respond to correspondence recorded in the investigation’s tracking exercise.
The email sought information on how members of the public could access and engage with their state assemblies, including the assemblies’ official websites and public contact addresses, procedures for submitting petitions or complaints, and how citizens could obtain bills and resolutions.
It also asked whether the assemblies provided online platforms to follow plenary sessions or track bills, as well as their official social media accounts.
Email template sent to state assemblies
The eight assemblies are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Edo, Katsina, Ogun, Oyo, and Yobe.
The identified addresses included clerk@hoa.ab.gov.ng for Abia, updateassembly@gmail.com for Akwa Ibom, anhalegislativebuildingawka@gmail.com for Anambra, edhabenin@gmail.com for Edo, admin@houseofassembly.kt.gov.ng for Katsina, info@ogha.og.gov.ng for Ogun, oyostatelegislature@gmail.com for Oyo, and info@houseofassembly.yb.gov.ng for Yobe.
‘Only Two Assemblies Replied To Emails’
Of the 36 State Houses of Assembly DUBAWA contacted, only two, Bauchi and Lagos, provided all requested information within five working days of receiving the correspondence, without charging the requester.
The two assemblies were the only ones that met all three criteria used in the investigation: acknowledging receipt of DUBAWA’s request, providing the requested information within five working days, and doing so without charging a fee.
Bauchi State House of Assembly responded through its publicly listed email address, bauchiassembly@gmail.com, which was functional during the investigation. It acknowledged DUBAWA’s Sept. 9, 2026 email and provided the requested information the following day, within 48 hours of the initial enquiry.
Screenshot showing Bauchi State House of Assembly’s Response
The Lagos State House of Assembly also responded promptly. It acknowledged DUBAWA’s request through info@lagoshouseofassembly.gov.ng on Sept. 12, 2026, the day it was sent, and provided the requested information on Sept. 14, 2026 without requesting payment.
Their responses contrasted with those of the other assemblies contacted, where requests were either not acknowledged, went unanswered within the investigation’s five-working-day benchmark, or did not yield all the information sought.
24 of Nigeria’s 36 State Assemblies Lack an Active Facebook Presence
DUBAWA examined the Facebook presence of all 36 State Houses of Assembly to assess how regularly they used the platform to communicate with citizens and share information about their activities.
Facebook was selected for its substantial reach in Nigeria and its public-facing features, which let citizens view updates from public pages without necessarily joining a group or following an account. According to DataReportal’s Digital 2025 report on Nigeria, Meta’s advertising tools estimated Facebook’s potential audience in the country at 38.7 million users in January 2025.
DUBAWA assessed the pages based on three criteria: when the most recent post was published, how regularly the page posted, and whether its content related to the activities of the State House of Assembly. To be classified as active, a Facebook page’s most recent post must have been published in August 2026 or later, and the page must post regularly and share content relevant to the State House of Assembly’s legislative activities.
A recent post alone did not automatically qualify a page as active. DUBAWA also considered update frequency and whether the content informed the public about the assembly’s proceedings, decisions, or other activities. Pages that did not satisfy these criteria were classified as inactive.
As of Oct. 9, 2026, only 12 assemblies had Facebook pages with recent activity. Twenty-one had identifiable but inactive pages, while three had no identifiable pages.
This means that 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies, or 66.7%, lacked an active Facebook presence at the time of the review. Only 33.3% had active pages.
Inactive pages, some dormant for years
The review identified inactive Facebook pages belonging to Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Taraba.
Some of the pages had gone years without new posts. Bayelsa’s last post was published in Jan. 2016, while Kogi’s was from Oct. 2015.
Adamawa last posted in Nov. 2020, while Benue’s page had no posts at the time of publication.
Screenshot of Benue’s Facebook page showing ‘No posts available’
Other pages also showed prolonged gaps in activity. Abia last posted in Sept. 2019, while Borno’s most recent post was from Sept. 2021. Bauchi last posted in Sept. 2022, and Imo in Jan. 2025. Ondo’s most recent post was from May 2023, while Akwa Ibom last posted in October that year. Gombe’s last post was dated Dec. 2023, and Osun’s was published in May 2024.
More recent posts did not necessarily indicate regular activity. Jigawa’s last post was in May 2025, Edo’s in Sept. 2025, and Anambra’s in Nov. 2025. Taraba last posted in Oct. 2023, while Ogun’s most recent post was from Sept. 2021.
Kaduna’s page was considered inactive because it did not meet all three assessment criteria. Although the page shared a post in Oct. 2026 announcing Governor Uba Sani’s signing of an executive bill establishing a specialist nursing college in Rigasa, it had no posts between Oct. 2025 and July 2026. Its posting activity was also largely ceremonial, rather than consistently updating the public on legislative activities and engaging citizens throughout the year.
The review also found limited content on some pages. Cross River’s page, created in April 2026, had only four posts, the latest published in July 2026. Kebbi’s page had just one post, published in April 2020.
Three assemblies had no identifiable Facebook pages
DUBAWA could not identify official Facebook pages for the State Houses of Assembly in Nasarawa, Plateau and Zamfara after searching Facebook’s public search feature using relevant keywords and conducting additional Google searches. The searches focused on identifying pages dedicated to the legislatures, rather than accounts belonging to state governments, political offices, educational institutions or other organisations. Together, the three states account for 8.3% of Nigeria’s 36 state legislatures.
For Nasarawa, Facebook searches returned pages associated with institutions such as the Nasarawa College of Health, Keffi, and Nasarawa State University, Keffi. However, DUBAWA could not identify a page dedicated to the State House of Assembly among the results. Additional Google searches also failed to identify an officially verified Facebook page for the legislature.
For Zamfara, Facebook searches returned results including the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Zamfara State Governor on ICT and Government Day Secondary School, Kungurki, Kaura Namoda. No dedicated Facebook page for the State House of Assembly appeared. Further Google searches did not identify an officially verified, centralised Facebook page for the legislature. However, the Zamfara State House of Assembly’s website was identified as an online source of legislative information.
For Plateau, Facebook searches returned results associated with the Plateau State Government, which represents the state’s executive arm, and Plateau United, a football club. Neither was dedicated to the State House of Assembly. Additional Google searches also failed to identify an officially verified Facebook page managed centrally by the legislature.
Twelve assemblies had active pages
The 12 assemblies with recent Facebook activity were Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, and Yobe.
The most recent posts varied across August and October 2026. Kano and Sokoto last posted in August, while Ebonyi’s latest post was on Sept. 23, 2026. Kwara, Lagos and Rivers last posted on Oct. 1, 2026, followed by Oyo on Oct. 6, 2026. Yobe’s latest post was published on Oct. 21, 2026, while Delta, Niger, Katsina and Ekiti posted most recently on October 26, 2026.
DUBAWA also found that none of the Facebook pages identified in the review had a verification badge, including those classified as active.
23 of Nigeria’s 36 State Assemblies Lack Active, Dedicated Websites
Only 13 of Nigeria’s 36 State Houses of Assembly had dedicated, accessible official websites during DUBAWA’s assessment. The remaining 23 did not meet the criteria for an active, dedicated website: some relied on pages within broader state government portals, two had websites that could not be accessed safely, seven had no identifiable assembly-specific webpage, and one state’s legislative webpage could not be found.
DUBAWA assessed the online presence of all 36 assemblies between May and September 2026. A website qualified as active only if it was dedicated to the State House of Assembly and accessible without restrictions during the review. A page within a general state government website did not qualify, even if it contained information about the legislature.
The review found that 13 assemblies, representing 36.1 per cent, met both criteria. The 13 states with active websites are: Abia, Bauchi, Imo, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Rivers, Yobe, and Zamfara.
Front Pages of Some of the State Assemblies’ Websites Found
DUBAWA equally identified no standalone assembly website for 13 states, but found a legislative webpage or section within their broader state government portals. These were Adamawa, Anambra, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kebbi, Ondo, Oyo and Plateau.
While such pages provide some online visibility, they are not equivalent to dedicated institutional websites. The extent to which they provide detailed legislative information varies and cannot be determined by website-accessibility classification alone.
The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly website was reported as suspended and was deemed unsafe to access during the review. The Ekiti State House of Assembly website triggered a browser security warning stating that attackers might be trying to steal users’ information.
Screenshot Of Ekiti State House Of Assembly Website Triggering Browser Security Warning Over Possible Data Theft
Neither website met DUBAWA’s accessibility requirements, and the assessment classified both as inactive. This classification reflects their status at the time of checking; it does not mean either website was permanently unavailable or that a cyberattack occurred.
The findings underscore that having a website is not enough: citizens must also be able to access it safely for it to serve as a reliable channel for public information.
DUBAWA could not identify either an official assembly website or a legislative webpage within the state government portal for Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto and Taraba. These seven states account for 19.4 per cent of Nigeria’s 36 state legislatures.
Edo did not fit neatly into the other categories. Although a legislative webpage appeared in the state government portal, it returned a “could not be found” message when accessed. It therefore did not meet the criteria for an accessible, dedicated assembly website.
Screenshot of a webpage created for the Edo State House of Assembly that is no longer accessible
Overall, 23 of the 36 assemblies (63.9 per cent) did not meet DUBAWA’s criteria for an active, dedicated website.
What Nigeria’s State Assemblies Spend on ICT
To determine how much Nigeria’s 36 State Houses of Assembly spent on information and communication technology (ICT) and related projects between 2023 and 2025, DUBAWA reviewed state budget performance reports from January 2023 to December 2025, focusing on funds released for projects specifically related to legislative digital infrastructure and development.
The review found that most of the budget performance reports examined did not provide clear, comprehensive details that would allow citizens to track funds released to state legislatures for ICT and digital development.
DUBAWA could not clearly identify itemised ICT projects specifically dedicated to the operations of most State Houses of Assembly in the records reviewed.
The lack of detailed information makes it difficult for citizens to establish how much their legislatures have spent on digital infrastructure, what the funds were intended to deliver and how such investments could improve access to legislative information and communication between lawmakers and their constituents.
However, the review identified specific ICT-related releases for the Lagos and Anambra State Houses of Assembly.
In Lagos, the House of Assembly received ₦719.2 million in 2023 and ₦96 million in 2024 for the “Provision of ICT Infrastructure for E-Parliament/Computerization Activities.”
Screenshot showing the Lagos State House of Assembly spent ₦ 719 million on ICT infrastructure in 2023. Source: Budget Performance reports 2023.
Screenshot showing the Lagos State House of Assembly spent N96 million on ICT infrastructure in 2024. Source: Budget Performance reports 2024
In Anambra, the government released ₦10.27 million in 2024 to procure 30 laptops, 20 desktop computers, and accessories.
A screenshot shows the Anambra State House of Assembly spent ₦10 million on ICT infrastructure in 2024. Source: Budget Performance reports 2024
FOI Test: Seven State Assemblies Fail to Provide Requested Information
DUBAWA’s investigation also tested compliance with Nigeria’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011, by submitting information requests to at least seven (7) State Houses of Assembly. As of publication, none had provided the requested information, even though all seven acknowledged receipt.
The investigation selected Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Kebbi, Sokoto and Kano states. Between Sept. 14 and Sept. 25, 2026, DUBAWA sent requests seeking information about the assemblies’ operations, transparency and engagement with citizens. DUBAWA tracked the requests through submission records, acknowledgements, and subsequent responses.
Acknowledgement Copy of FOI Letter Sent To Oyo State House Assembly
Oyo, Kwara, and Kano acknowledged their requests on Sept. 15; Kebbi on Sept. 16; Sokoto on Sept. 17; Niger on Sept. 23; and Ogun on Sept. 25.
However, none of the seven assemblies had supplied the requested information as of the time of publication. They also did not justify their failure to respond appropriately, as required by law.
Under Section 4 of the FOI Act, public institutions must make requested information available within seven days of receiving an application or communicate a refusal in writing, stating the reasons and the relevant provision of the Act.
Section 7(4) provides that failure to grant access within the statutory period constitutes a deemed refusal. Section 7(5) provides that an officer or institution that wrongfully denies access commits an offence and, upon conviction, is liable to a fine of ₦500,000.
Section 31 of Nigeria’s Freedom of Information Act, 2011, defines a “public institution” to include legislative bodies of government. This provides a legal basis to treat State Houses of Assembly as institutions covered by the Act’s public access provisions.
Stakeholders Weigh In
Simbiat Alaro, a legal practitioner specialising in Freedom of Information matters, said the failure to respond raises a fundamental question about citizens’ ability to exercise their legal right to seek information from public institutions.
“The Freedom of Information Act gives citizens a legal mechanism to seek information from public institutions. When an institution receives a request and fails to provide the information or give a lawful refusal within the prescribed period, it undermines the practical enjoyment of that right.”
She said the situation was particularly concerning when the institutions involved were lawmakers.
“It is troubling when an institution whose primary responsibility is to make laws is itself seen as failing to comply with a statutory obligation. Legislatures should set the standard for respect for the law and accountability, because citizens look to them to ensure that public institutions operate within the law.”
Adekunle Adeyemi Toafeeq, Lagos State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, a pro-democracy group, said the findings raise broader concerns about democratic accountability.
“A legislature cannot claim to represent the people effectively if citizens cannot obtain basic information from it. The issue here is not just unanswered emails; it is whether citizens can meaningfully scrutinise the institutions exercising power in their name.”
He said repeated failure to respond to formal requests could discourage citizens from using lawful accountability mechanisms.
“When citizens use a channel provided by law and still receive no substantive response, it sends the message that formal accountability mechanisms may not work. That weakens public participation and creates a system where access to information can depend on personal connections rather than citizens’ rights,” he said.
Assemblies Respond to Findings
To allow the affected State Houses of Assembly to respond to the findings, DUBAWA spoke with officials from Oyo and Ogun states to understand the communication challenges identified during the investigation and the steps being taken to address them.
Aderonke Ogundeji, Deputy Clerk of the Oyo State House of Assembly, acknowledged that the assembly’s email system was not functioning properly, raising concerns about its ability to receive and process citizens’ correspondence.
“I know the email is not active as we speak. And even if your message drops, I am not sure it’s been processed. Before, we had a functioning email and a website that anyone could access anywhere in the world. But all these stopped working at a time, and [I] agree this may limit how people engage, interact and access us,” she told DUBAWA.
Ogundeji said the assembly recognised the importance of restoring its digital communication channels and pledged to work internally to make them accessible again.
“Due to its importance, as you stated, we are going to work internally and ensure they continue to work so that citizens can reach us from any part of the world. It is something we have to bring back to align with the contemporary,” she said.
She also said the assembly was working on its response to DUBAWA’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
However, as of Oct. 10, 2026, the assembly had not yet provided the information requested in DUBAWA’s Sept. 15, 2026 letter.
Adedigba David, a senior research officer at the Ogun State House of Assembly, said the assembly had noted the communication gaps identified in DUBAWA’s investigation, including issues with its official email channel and how it handled the investigation’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request. He said the assembly would work internally to address these issues and improve access to its communication channels for citizens.
This reporting was completed with the support of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) under the SAIL+ Programme Fellowship.