A coalition of right groups has condemned the recent statement credited to Dele Alake, a ministerial nominee and President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson, who recommended the strengthening of social media regulations. 

Mr Alake, a former commissioner of information and strategy in Lagos, had, during his ministerial screening, said regulations must be strengthened and tested to ensure that social media is not used in a manner that threatens the country’s internal security.

“The downside of social media is that it is detrimental to a good and decent society. What I would support is the strengthening of regulations,” Mr Alake said.

Mr Alake’s comments elicited reactions from various quarters, with many condemning him and describing his remarks as an attempt to gag the media. 

In reaction, the NetRights Coalition (NRC), a pan-African Coalition of Internet Freedom Practitioners and activists, in a statement jointly signed by about 18 members, said Mr Alake’s disposition spells danger for freedom of expression in Nigeria.

The group said the freedom of expression stands at the cornerstone of democracy in alignment with section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, the African Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other subsidiary legislations passed to protect fundamental human rights.

The group emphasised the importance of freedom of expression in democratic societies, particularly for the media. 

“As such, it is imperative that no blanket support for regulating social media should be made by any government official, ministerial nominee or otherwise. 

“Rather, extensive consultations across multiple stakeholder groups to understand the peculiarities of the digital environment and the need to protect the civic space to ensure that all international standards for fulfilling human rights obligations are adhered to by the Nigerian government. This will coalesce ongoing efforts and a multistakeholder approach to internet governance,” the group stated.

Reiterating the need to preserve democracy and human rights, the group condemned recommendations to regulate social media. 

The coalition comprised the African Academic Network on Internet Policy (AANOIP), Africa Media and Information Technology Initiative (AfriMITI),  AfroLeadership – Cameroon, Bloggers of Zambia (BloggersZM), Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO), Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative (DRLI), DigiCivic Initiative, and Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria

Other are Junub Youth Action Network (JYAN), Kigali Attorneys Legal Consultants & Partners,  KICTANet,  Knowledge House (KHA),  Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Paradigm Initiative,  Tech Project Women Initiative (TechHerNG),  Zimbabwe Centre for Media and Information Literacy,  and Civil Society Advocacy Network on Climate Change and the Environment Sierra Leone (CAN-SL).