Amnesty International has raised concerns over the arrest, detention and prosecution of journalists, activists and other Nigerians expressing dissent, saying such actions affected freedom of expression in the country.
The organisation made the assessment in its State of the World’s Human Rights: April 2026, which reviewed human rights developments in Nigeria during 2025.
According to Amnesty, Nigerian authorities continued to arrest and detain journalists and others over critical expressions, while security and law enforcement agencies were also accused of using excessive force during peaceful protests.
The organisation cited the January 2025 arrest of Omoyele Sowore over posts on X concerning the Inspector General of Police, as well as the arrest of social media critic Haruna Mohammed, known as Abale Borno, over a post concerning the condition of public schools in Borno State.
Amnesty also cited the arrest of Kano Times online editor Buhari Abba and freelance journalist Ismail Auwal over a report considered critical of the Kano State Commissioner for Information.
The organisation said journalists were also among those affected during protests in Port Harcourt in March 2025 over concerns about freedom of expression and the use of the Cybercrimes Act.
According to Amnesty, police assaulted several journalists during the protests, fired tear gas at protesters and confiscated cameras.
The organisation further documented the case of lawyer and activist Chinedu Agu, who was remanded in prison after being arraigned on criminal defamation charges over opinion articles criticising Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma.
Amnesty said Agu was released after 28 days in prison pending trial, while no trial date had been set by the end of the reporting period.
On peaceful assembly, Amnesty reported that 13 people, including Sowore and lawyer Aloy Ejimakor, were arrested in Abuja in October 2025 during a protest calling for the release of detained Indigenous People of Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The organisation said the protesters were arraigned on several charges and later granted bail, with the case remaining ongoing at the end of 2025.
Amnesty’s report forms part of its annual assessment of human rights developments across countries. The 2026 edition covers developments in 144 countries during 2025 and identifies concerns relating to repression of dissent, discrimination, conflict and other human rights issues.
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