450 reports of abuse and violations of human rights were made to the National Human Rights Commission during the general elections of 2023, according to Tony Ojukwu (SAN), the commission's executive secretary.
According to him, 150 instances of human rights violations were reported during the governorship and state house of assembly elections, compared to 300 complaints received during the presidential and national assembly elections.
In an interview with journalists in Abuja for the launch of the e-rights initiative by the Avocats Sans Frontières France, also known as Lawyers without Borders, Ojukwu presented these stats.
The project, which was funded by the European Union, aimed to advance Nigerians' rights in the digital realm while utilizing opportunities and resolving issues brought on by new technologies.
He described how the NHRC carefully watched the actions of the security and law enforcement organizations during the elections.
Ojukwu stated, "We had about 300 instances of complaints or human rights violations during the presidential elections, and we had about 150 complaints during the governorship and States l Houses of Assembly elections.
"However, I am unable to give a precise classification. This is due to the fact that some were about hate speech, coercion, vote buying, violence, and other topics. Remember that we had a Situation Room where we were able to gather reports from Nigerians of all backgrounds about the irregularities that occurred during the election.
Ivan Paneff, vice president of ASF France, stated that the organization has worked with Nigerian institutions to safeguard citizens' human rights for the past 15 years.
However, he asserted that the development of contemporary technologies had necessitated an examination of the issue of digital liberties.
"As a result of the constant interference of electronic devices, tools, and networks in our day-to-day lives, we have now entered a new era in a new area of the law. It follows that we must take that into consideration in order to safeguard citizens' rights and combat abuses made possible by various poor practices of various organizations or businesses. That is why we established a partnership in that manner with Nigerian organizations, according to Paneff.
Angela Uwandu, the ASF France representative for Nigeria, issued a warning against the censorship of online platforms, stating that freedom of speech must be protected not only offline but also online.
She claimed that the e-project would directly address the demands of young people, activists, journalists, online news outlets, bloggers, social media influencers, defenders of human rights, and engaged residents in Nigeria for access to free and open internet.
In order to improve digital rights in Nigeria, she said, "Today, we have the pleasure of launching the e-Rights Project. To this end, we are working with our partners to address the issues of creating free online spaces and secure online spaces to ensure that citizens can interact on digital platforms while ensuring key respectful human rights.
"It's critical to understand that technological platforms, like social media as we know it, give individuals a platform on which to express themselves. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the right to freedom of expression online as well as offline.
But we also need to be aware that when we assert our rights, we shouldn't do so at the expense of other people's rights. However, the government cannot and should not use that as justification to censor citizens' internet speech.
"Total censorship should never be accepted. Additionally, we must make sure that the government always upholds citizens' liberties.
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