Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a pan-African organisation, says it has launched a new platform and project to provide digital security and internet freedom to Nigerian citizens and journalists ahead of the nation’s general elections 17 days away.

With 23 African nations set to hold general elections for new sets of leaders across the continent, Adeboye Adegoke, PIN’s senior manager says the project christened Digital Rights and Elections in Africa Meetings (DREAM) will raise awareness on digital rights and capacity building across Africa.

The expansion of digital access in Africa, according to Mr Adegoke, has resulted in an increase in “arrests and intimidation of online users, internet blockages, and the proliferation of laws and regulations that undermine the potential of technology,” which pose threats to the democracy that has so far prevailed on the continent.

Therefore, the Ripoti platform will enable media professionals, regular people, and civil rights organisations to report any abuses of digital rights before, during, or after the general elections.

PIN developed the Ayeta toolkit—named after the Yoruba word for “bulletproof”—to give human rights activists tips on digital security.

In order to ensure that the general public has access to reliable and credible information during this crucial election, Mr Adegoke urged the Nigerian government to collaborate with other news organisations.