SUPPORT SDN FOR A PEACEFUL, PROSPEROUS AND POLLUTION-FREE NIGER DELTA
UK Registered Charity No. 1148143 | Company Limited by Guarantee No. 510112
Published: 16.11.2020
This six-month project aims to expand collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space. Relatedly, the project also aims to increase civil society action to test and strengthen the credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections for Ondo and Bayelsa states.
In 2019, CIVICUS downgraded Nigeria’s civic space from obstructed to repressed, meaning that the nation’s civic space is significantly constrained. However, discussion and understanding of the issue of constricting civic space is not well advanced in the Niger Delta–a key issue is the need for civil society to improve its cooperation and understanding of the problems, to be able to act together on them. The role of civil society is both most needed and most challenging around elections, which are typically violent and fraudulent as politicians and parties vie for control and influence in this resource-rich region. This project will take place in Rivers state.
To increase collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space, accompanied by increased civil society action in the Niger Delta to test and strengthen credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections.
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
This six-month project aims to expand collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space. Relatedly, the project also aims to increase civil society action to test and strengthen the credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections for Ondo and Bayelsa states.
In 2019, CIVICUS downgraded Nigeria’s civic space from obstructed to repressed, meaning that the nation’s civic space is significantly constrained. However, discussion and understanding of the issue of constricting civic space is not well advanced in the Niger Delta–a key issue is the need for civil society to improve its cooperation and understanding of the problems, to be able to act together on them. The role of civil society is both most needed and most challenging around elections, which are typically violent and fraudulent as politicians and parties vie for control and influence in this resource-rich region. This project will take place in Rivers state.
To increase collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space, accompanied by increased civil society action in the Niger Delta to test and strengthen credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections.
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
This six-month project aims to expand collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space. Relatedly, the project also aims to increase civil society action to test and strengthen the credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections for Ondo and Bayelsa states.
In 2019, CIVICUS downgraded Nigeria’s civic space from obstructed to repressed, meaning that the nation’s civic space is significantly constrained. However, discussion and understanding of the issue of constricting civic space is not well advanced in the Niger Delta–a key issue is the need for civil society to improve its cooperation and understanding of the problems, to be able to act together on them. The role of civil society is both most needed and most challenging around elections, which are typically violent and fraudulent as politicians and parties vie for control and influence in this resource-rich region. This project will take place in Rivers state.
To increase collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space, accompanied by increased civil society action in the Niger Delta to test and strengthen credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections.
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
This six-month project aims to expand collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space. Relatedly, the project also aims to increase civil society action to test and strengthen the credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections for Ondo and Bayelsa states.
In 2019, CIVICUS downgraded Nigeria’s civic space from obstructed to repressed, meaning that the nation’s civic space is significantly constrained. However, discussion and understanding of the issue of constricting civic space is not well advanced in the Niger Delta–a key issue is the need for civil society to improve its cooperation and understanding of the problems, to be able to act together on them. The role of civil society is both most needed and most challenging around elections, which are typically violent and fraudulent as politicians and parties vie for control and influence in this resource-rich region. This project will take place in Rivers state.
To increase collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space, accompanied by increased civil society action in the Niger Delta to test and strengthen credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections.
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
This six-month project aims to expand collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space. Relatedly, the project also aims to increase civil society action to test and strengthen the credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections for Ondo and Bayelsa states.
In 2019, CIVICUS downgraded Nigeria’s civic space from obstructed to repressed, meaning that the nation’s civic space is significantly constrained. However, discussion and understanding of the issue of constricting civic space is not well advanced in the Niger Delta–a key issue is the need for civil society to improve its cooperation and understanding of the problems, to be able to act together on them. The role of civil society is both most needed and most challenging around elections, which are typically violent and fraudulent as politicians and parties vie for control and influence in this resource-rich region. This project will take place in Rivers state.
To increase collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space, accompanied by increased civil society action in the Niger Delta to test and strengthen credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections.
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
Published: 16.11.2020
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
This six-month project aims to expand collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space. Relatedly, the project also aims to increase civil society action to test and strengthen the credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections for Ondo and Bayelsa states.
In 2019, CIVICUS downgraded Nigeria’s civic space from obstructed to repressed, meaning that the nation’s civic space is significantly constrained. However, discussion and understanding of the issue of constricting civic space is not well advanced in the Niger Delta–a key issue is the need for civil society to improve its cooperation and understanding of the problems, to be able to act together on them. The role of civil society is both most needed and most challenging around elections, which are typically violent and fraudulent as politicians and parties vie for control and influence in this resource-rich region. This project will take place in Rivers state.
To increase collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space, accompanied by increased civil society action in the Niger Delta to test and strengthen credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections.
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
October 2020- March 2021
Published: 16.11.2020
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
This six-month project aims to expand collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space. Relatedly, the project also aims to increase civil society action to test and strengthen the credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections for Ondo and Bayelsa states.
In 2019, CIVICUS downgraded Nigeria’s civic space from obstructed to repressed, meaning that the nation’s civic space is significantly constrained. However, discussion and understanding of the issue of constricting civic space is not well advanced in the Niger Delta–a key issue is the need for civil society to improve its cooperation and understanding of the problems, to be able to act together on them. The role of civil society is both most needed and most challenging around elections, which are typically violent and fraudulent as politicians and parties vie for control and influence in this resource-rich region. This project will take place in Rivers state.
To increase collective action by civil society in Rivers State to challenge threats, and create opportunities, to widen civic space, accompanied by increased civil society action in the Niger Delta to test and strengthen credibility of the results collation process in upcoming off-cycle/by elections.
Nigeria’s citizens face severe challenges in participating in free and fair elections and they also face the problem of limited and declining civic space in other aspects of their lives. On civic space, from 2015 to date, Spaces for Change recorded a total 252 incidents of government crackdown on civic space in Nigeria. Some of these issues have been chronic problems in the Niger Delta region and prefaced the current national trend. At the national-level, there are indications that this trend will continue, for example, as efforts linger to pursue the Bill to Establish Non-Governmental Organisation Regulatory Commission (the NGO Bill) and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (the Social Media Bill) threaten to restrain freedom of speech and civil society activities. The recent #EndSARS protests have demonstrated the public resolve to challenge brutality by security agencies and to improve governance overall. They have also shown the importance of freedom of expression and association in a context where there has been incidents of violent repression in response to these protests.
Elections, in democratic societies such as Nigeria, are supposed to offer citizens one of the most important platforms to freely exercise their rights and assert accountability to office holders of broader society. However, electoral fraud, lack of transparency, and elections violence are particularly prevalent for elections in the Niger Delta. Without credible elections, apathy and lower civic participation become the norm, further shrinking civic space.
Additionally, citizens and CSOs experience barriers to accessing relevant information needed for civic engagement, threats and intimidation by public and law enforcement agencies, and restrictions on the right to peaceful protests by state governments. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has been used by Nigerian state actors to justify further restrictions on civic freedoms. An example is the presidential directive prohibiting certain media organisations from covering the activities of the presidency or the ordering of state agents to shoot at-sight escapees from isolation centres. At the time of writing most restrictions and Covid19 related security measures are being wound down but a few measures remain in place and seem likely to be enforced with little justification relating to the safety measure they purportedly represent.
Politics, power, and even livelihoods, in the Niger Delta have become shaped by ever more entrenched dynamics of capture and control of oil revenues, with civil society voices and journalism becoming constrained, and sometimes divided. These voices must be given the space to be heard at a time that the basics of transparency and accountability delivered in some key government agencies have been degraded.
Published: 16.11.2020
SUPPORT SDN FOR A PEACEFUL, PROSPEROUS AND POLLUTION-FREE NIGER DELTA
In today’s digital world, establishing a strong online presence is essential for business growth and success. However, many women-owned businesses face significant barriers due to a lack of access to digital skills. Helen, a dynamic businesswoman from Port Harcourt, found herself in this exact predicament despite investing in a cutting-edge ice-making factory and producing high-quality ice. Read her story.
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