A Nigerian rights group on Thursday accused the government of shrinking civic space and silencing dissent, saying the country’s 65th independence anniversary should be a moment of reflection rather than celebration.
The Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED) said peaceful protests are increasingly treated as rebellion and that security forces have attacked demonstrators.
“Sixty-five years after independence, Nigeria is haemorrhaging politically, economically and socially,” said Ibrahim Zikirullahi, CHRICED’s executive director. “Anniversaries now remind citizens not of unity or progress, but of unfulfilled promises.”
He cited last year’s #EndBadGovernance demonstrations, during which protesters were allegedly killed, and pointed to the prosecution of journalist Omoyele Sowore as evidence of government intolerance for critics.
Zikirullahi accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of sidelining governance for “premature politics”, saying electioneering had overshadowed reforms. He also alleged that opposition parties had faced clampdowns by security agencies while ruling party governors issued unconstitutional restrictions on rivals.
“Democracy in Nigeria is in retreat,” he said. “When civic space shrinks, tyranny expands, and when voices are silenced, injustice thrives.”
The group also criticised the suspension of Kogi senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, describing it as an example of systemic silencing of women and marginalised voices in politics.
Zikirullahi said corruption continued to erode public trust, citing an auditor-general’s report that N197 billion was lost to fraudulent contracts. “Justice in Nigeria is no longer blind,” he said. “It is barricaded behind walls of influence, delay and silence.”