Hope Behind Bars Warns SLAPPs Lawsuits Shrinking Nigeria’s Civic Space

James Emejo in Abuja

A new report by civil rights organisation, Hope Behind Bars Africa, has raised concerns over the increasing use of Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) to intimidate journalists, civic actors and human rights defenders in Nigeria, warning that the trend is rapidly shrinking the country’s civic space.

The organisation made the disclosure at a Stakeholders’ Validation of a Research on SLAPPs in Nigeria, which was organised by Hope Bahind Bars and supported by the National Endowment for Democracy in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day 2026 in Abuja.

Programme Manager of the organisation, Nurudeen Hassan, described the lawsuits as a “quiet but dangerous threat” to freedom of expression, accountability and democratic participation.

He said, “These lawsuits are not brought to seek justice, but to suppress it.

“They are designed to intimidate journalists, silence human rights defenders, and weaken civil society organisations who dare to speak truth to power.”

He explained that the organisation, with support from the National Endowment for Democracy, is implementing a project titled, ‘Defending the Defenders: Enhancing Action Against Suppressive Laws and Lawsuits in Nigeria’, aimed at confronting the misuse of legal systems as tools of repression.

According to him, the group had undertaken several interventions including podcast engagements, online educational courses and advocacy for the passage of the Human Rights Defenders Bill.

Hassan also announced the launch of a digital platform known as the “SLAPPs Monitor,” designed to track incidents of suppressive lawsuits across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory while providing victims access to pro bono legal support.

“It is our hope that this tool will not only improve visibility and documentation but also enhance coordinated responses to such cases,” he stated.

Executive Director of Public Awareness on Rights and Rehabilitation of Vulnerable Persons Initiative, Ogechi Ogu, who consulted on the research, said findings from the study confirmed that SLAPPs were increasingly being deployed to silence public interest voices.

She said the research revealed that many Nigerians, including journalists, now engage in self-censorship due to fear of legal harassment.

According to her, “People are no longer participating. People are doing self-censorship. Everybody seems to be afraid to speak out because it comes with a huge cost.”

Ogu disclosed that the study examined 19 cases online and found that at least 13 involved journalists, making media practitioners the highest category of victims.

She identified provisions on criminal defamation in the Criminal Code, Penal Code and Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act as some of the major legal instruments frequently deployed in such cases.

She said, “Ordinarily, defamation can be tried utilizing the civil suit route. But because people want to intimidate and harass persons that speak out, they normally choose criminal action.”

She further warned that the trend was eroding public confidence in the justice system and negatively impacting the economy as well as democratic accountability.

According to her, many complainants in such cases are influential public figures with enormous resources capable of compromising justice processes.

She called for stronger institutional collaboration involving the Nigerian Bar Association, National Human Rights Commission, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to address the challenge.

Also speaking, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Grace Ekeh, condemned the growing use of legal intimidation against journalists.

“Press freedom is non-negotiable; it is not a privilege but a right,” she declared.

Ekeh said the NUJ had consistently opposed arbitrary arrests, harassment and every attempt to suppress the media through coercive legal and extra-legal measures.

“Our position has always been clear: a society where journalists are silenced is a society where citizens are denied access to truth, accountability, and informed participation,” she added.