While Nigeria declined in Internet freedom ranking due to an unprecedented pattern of arrests and prosecutions against bloggers that followed the passage of the Cybercrime Act in 2015, Freedom House has ranked Nigeria ‘partly free’ in its new Freedom in the World 2017 report.
Populist and nationalist forces made significant gains in democratic states in 2016, while authoritarian powers engaged in brazen acts of aggression, according to the Freedom in the World 2017 annual report.
However, Freedom House, publishers of the Freedom in the World 2017 report, says Nigeria’s political rights rating improved from 4 to 3 due to increased transparency under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and as military gain against Boko Haram that led to a significant reduction in the group’s ability to alter the religious and ethnic composition of the northeast.
In the overview of Freedom of the Press 2016 in Nigeria, Freedom House stated that “Nigeria has a highly vibrant and varied media landscape, with outlets that openly criticize unpopular government policies,” adding that “Nevertheless, self-censorship, physical assaults, and intimidation along with impunity for crimes against journalists remain major concerns”.
As per Freedom on the Net 2016 report on Nigeria, Freedom House said, “Nigeria has a vibrant, savvy, and growing internet user population, enabled by a strong and innovative technology sector. Compared to the environment for traditional news media in Nigeria, online media is relatively free from restrictions, with no blocking or filtering of online content reported during the coverage period”.
Placing Nigeria’s population at 182.2 million, it says Internet Penetration is 47 percent.
“Despite the progress observed, a cybercrime law passed at the end of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure in May 2015 led to the arrest of several bloggers and online journalists on charges of “cyberstalking” for online writings that criticized government officials and powerful bankers.
“Four prosecutions were documented during this report’s coverage period, and arrests continued to be reported in late 2016, marking a significant jump over the number of incidents reported in previous years. Intimidation and harassment for online expression also became more common, and self-censorship noticeably increased,” the report said.
Generally, Nigeria ranked ‘partly free’ across three criteria ranking: Freedom on the Net 2016, Freedom of the Press 2016, and Freedom in the World 2017.
“We see leaders and nations pursuing their own narrow interests without meaningful constraints or regard for the shared benefits of global peace and freedom,” said Arch Puddington, one of the report’s co-authors, adding that “These trends are accelerating and starting to undo the international order of the past quarter-century, including the general respect for long-established norms for fundamental freedoms and democracy”.
Puddington said “In past years we generally saw declines in freedom among autocracies and dictatorships, but in 2016 it was established democracies that dominated the list of countries suffering setbacks”.
Among the countries rated “Free” by the report, there were declines in Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Tunisia, and the United States.