Across Northwest Nigeria, journalists and civil society leaders are fighting a quiet but relentless battle—not against insurgents in the forests, but against an expanding web of digital repression. Under the guise of “cybercrime control,” journalists are being arrested, activists intimidated, and critics tracked through digital surveillance. The misuse of Nigeria’s Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015—combined with executive overreach and political intolerance—is shrinking the civic space in a region already weakened by insecurity and poverty.
From Sokoto to Katsina, Kaduna to Kebbi, journalists have been detained over Facebook posts; civic leaders face threats for demanding accountability; and governments or officials weaponise the police and courts to silence dissent.
A WikkiTimes investigation reveals a “digital onslaught” designed to muzzle free expression and entrench fear.
When Watchdogs Become Targets
Buhari Abba, editor of Kano Times, was arrested after his platform published an article critical of the State Commissioner of Information, Ibrahim Waiya. The story, written by a journalist Ismail Auwal, questioned the commissioner’s strained relationship with civil society groups.
“I was detained for three hours on the commissioner’s orders,” Abba told WikkiTimes. “That experience opened my eyes to how digital oversight and surveillance are used to intimidate journalists and critics. Many of us who report online are now learning digital safety not for curiosity, but for survival.”
Auwal described his own ordeal. After his story—titled ‘Dear Governor Abba, Beware of Waiya’—went viral, he was invited by the police following a defamation petition. “When I got to the station, I found that Buhari Abba had been arrested before me,” he said.
Auwal was fortunate; he had a network of lawyers and advocates who intervened. “The police treated me fairly because of public outcry,” he said. “But I kept asking myself—what if it happened to someone without connections? That person might still be behind bars.”
Like journalists, civil society voices are facing increasing hostility online. Zainab Nasir Ahmad, Executive Director of the Youth Society for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Social Vices (YOSPIS), says she uses digital platforms and data-driven advocacy to hold the government accountable on education and governance, including the governor’s largely unfulfilled “One Child, One Desk” pledge. But each time she raises concerns, she is branded an enemy of the state, threatened with arrest by political aides, and targeted with online smear campaigns from politically aligned “data boys,” even though, she says, her work is about accountability, not politics.
Arrests Over Facebook Posts
In Katsina, at least two journalists have been arrested for their online work. Zuhair Ali Ibraheem, editor of Albishir Hausa Newspaper, was detained over a N30 million debt investigation involving a councillor. Despite reaching out for comments and verifying his story, he was charged with defamation after the official petitioned the police.
Similarly, Trust TV’s Jamil Mabai was arrested by Hisbah authorities after criticising a violent religious enforcement operation that reportedly left a man dead. Mabai took to his Facebook handle and said, “Community Watch was designed to fight banditry in rural communities, that is their sole purpose, not morality policing, they are not trained to do that. This alleged unholy marriage between Hisbah and Community Watch is what led to the Death of Gambo Mai Paci #justiceforgambo”. Gambo was a DJ (party) operator in the Katsina community who was shot while Hisbah was trying to enforce a ban on DJ in the area.
The commandant reportedly threatened Mabai for “embarrassing the institution.” Rights groups have called both arrests “clear attempts to criminalise journalism.”
Zakariyya Kabeer Gwagwarwa, a National Youth Service Corps member then was arrested in Katsina over a harmless Facebook post that mentioned a political slogan that a government official found unpalatable. “Such actions mark a dangerous slide toward authoritarianism,” Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) warned.
Gwagwarwa posted a satire in reference to a lawmaker representing Nasarawa Constituency on Facebook that “ company pampers must go (sic) Sabuwar Nassarawa (sic) 2027 insha allah (sic).”
Journalists Tracked, Activists Intimidated
In Kaduna, journalist and activist Ishaq Alhassan, popularly known as Elhassan Qauran Mata, has been arrested three times in five years, most recently for a Facebook post criticising local government officials over alleged election funds. His digital devices have been tracked, his communications monitored, and his movements restricted.
“I know they are tracking my calls,” Alhassan told WikkiTimes. “I now use encrypted messaging apps like Signal because any time I enter Kaduna, I prepare my family for my possible arrest.”
Alhassan’s case reflects a broader pattern in which social media posts that centre on accountability are treated as criminal threats. He said some government officials’ cyber surveillance of critics has created a climate of fear, where even constructive criticism is branded as opposition propaganda.
“People presume that I am a member of the opposition because I ask questions,” he said. “But being critical is not a crime. It is a civic responsibility.”
In Sokoto, where digital activism is rapidly criminalised, several arrests underscore the rising intolerance of dissent.
A young lady, Hamdiyya Sidi Shariff, had been in and out of detention centres in Sokoto for trying to hold Governor Ahmed Aliyu accountable for the insecurity bedevilling the state.
In 2024, Shafi’u Umar, a former aide to ex-Governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal, was remanded in prison for allegedly “circulating falsehood” about the current Governor of Sokoto state, Governor Ahmad Aliyu and his wife. His supposed offence was sharing a video showing the First Lady’s lavish birthday celebration. Amnesty International condemned the action as a “blatant attack on free expression,” and warned that authorities are turning the Cybercrime Act into a weapon against citizens’ rights.
When Hassan Mai-Waya Kangiwa, a journalist in Kebbi State, released a video exposing the appalling conditions of patients lying on bare metal beds at Kangiwa General Hospital, he was arrested. The footage went viral, which forced the Governor of Kebbi state, Governor Nasir Idris, to release him and suspend the Commissioner for Health, Yunusa Isma’il, eventually.
His ordeal highlights a dangerous reality that even evidence-based journalism can attract punishment. Human rights lawyer Barr. Abdu Musa described such cases as “a dangerous deterrent to truth-telling,” noting that “whistleblowing has become a crime in Nigeria’s subnational politics.”
According to the CJID’s 2024 State Openness Index, in the Northwest, only Katsina ranks among the top 5 in Nigeria, with almost all scoring poorly on media freedom and civic engagement.
A Region Under Watch
Cybersecurity expert and journalist, Aliyu Dahiru Aliyu, believes the online space is now as dangerous as the physical field. “The internet is like an open battlefield,” he said. “I take precautions, VPNs, encrypted tools, because even non-state actors track us. I’ve received threats from Boko Haram before. You can’t be too careful.”
Aliyu said while direct state threats have lessened compared to previous years, “the fear of being watched” has become psychological warfare for many reporters.
Barrister Abba Hikima, a Kano-based digital rights advocate who has counselled several journalists and activists, said the Cybercrime Act remains a major enabler of abuse.
“The sections on cyberstalking and offensive messages are vaguely worded,” he explained. “They conflict with Section 39 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression. The problem is not just the law, it’s how law enforcement agents apply it.”
Hikima argues that police often ignore legitimate defences like justification and fair comment before arresting journalists. “They are not supposed to detain a journalist until they verify the facts of a publication,” he said, “If the report is true, that should end the matter. But in practice, truth is no shield.”
He added that phone tracking without court orders, which is now commonplace, violates Section 37 of the Constitution protecting citizens’ privacy.
Experts say the Cybercrime Act has become a political tool for silencing dissent.
According to digital rights advocate YZ Ya’u of CITAD, “The vagueness of terms like ‘cyberstalking’ and ‘offensive messages’ gives authorities the leeway to arrest anyone for expressing opinions online.”
Between 2023 and 2025, a dozen journalists and activists were arrested across the region over social media posts, following petitions from politicians or their aides.
Legal expert Mercy Nnaji, of Legal Aid Initiative, says the lack of digital literacy among law enforcement officers worsens the abuse: “Police interpret criticism as cybercrime because they are not trained to differentiate between legitimate expression and defamation.”
The Cost of Courage
For many journalists across the Northwest, surviving online has become an act of resistance. “Silence is safer,” one editor admitted. “But silence is also surrender.”
“I receive threats weekly,” said Alhassan of Kaduna. “Sometimes, I lock myself indoors, overwhelmed by insults and fear. But if we stop speaking, corruption wins.”
For Zainab Ahmad, the struggle is moral: “Our democracy cannot survive if people fear speaking truth to power. We must use the digital space to amplify accountability, not silence it.”
Ismail argues that truth and fact remain the greatest defence any journalist or activist can have.
Experts warn that without urgent reforms, including amending the Cybercrime Act and strengthening digital rights protections, Nigeria risks institutionalising digital authoritarianism.
Ya’u warned, “When states use digital laws to silence citizens, democracy dies quietly one arrest, one post, one journalist at a time.”
This story was produced as part of Dataphyte Foundation’s project on “Addressing Digital Surveillance and Digital Rights Abuse by State and Non-State Actors” with support from Spaces for Change.
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