Strengthening Nigeria’s digital safety laws
Sir: Nigeria’s digital economy is expanding at remarkable speed. From mobile banking and e-commerce to social media and artificial intelligence–powered services, the internet has become central to how Nigerians learn,
Sir: Nigeria’s digital economy is expanding at remarkable speed. From mobile banking and e-commerce to social media and artificial intelligence–powered services, the internet has become central to how Nigerians learn, trade, govern, and express themselves. Yet as our digital footprint grows, so too do the risks. Cybercrime, data breaches, online harassment, misinformation, and technology-facilitated abuse are no longer abstract threats. They are lived realities. This moment calls for a serious strengthening of Nigeria’s digital safety laws; beyond what currently exists to protect citizens and build trust in the digital ecosystem.
Nigeria is not starting from zero. The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP Act) was a landmark law that expanded legal protections against physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse. Importantly, the Act recognizes forms of harassment, intimidation, and harmful conduct that can occur through electronic means. In theory, this provides a legal basis for addressing certain online abuses.
In practice, however, the VAPP Act was not designed for today’s complex digital environment—and that limitation is increasingly evident.
One major gap is scope. The VAPP Act treats online abuse largely as an extension of offline violence, rather than as a distinct category with its own dynamics. Technology-facilitated harms such as coordinated cyberbullying, doxxing, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, deepfake abuse, algorithm-driven amplification of harassment, and large-scale disinformation campaigns fall into legal grey areas. Victims are often forced to stretch existing provisions to fit harms the law never anticipated.
Another gap is clarity and accessibility. Many Nigerians experiencing online abuse do not know whether the VAPP Act applies to their situation, where to report digital harm, or which agency has jurisdiction. This uncertainty discourages reporting and leaves victims, particularly women, journalists, activists, and young people, without effective remedies. A digital safety framework should offer clear definitions, reporting pathways, and timelines for action. The VAPP Act, as currently structured, does not provide this clarity for online contexts.
There is also a significant enforcement gap. Even where the VAPP Act could apply to online harm, enforcement is weak. Law enforcement agencies often lack training in digital evidence preservation, platform data requests, and cyber investigations. Cases involving online abuse are slow, inconsistently handled, or quietly abandoned. A law that cannot be effectively enforced offers little protection, no matter how well intentioned it is.
Perhaps most critically, the VAPP Act does not adequately address platform responsibility. Modern digital harm is rarely caused by individuals alone; it is often enabled or amplified by platform design choices, weak moderation systems, and opaque algorithms. Nigeria’s legal framework places minimal obligations on technology companies to prevent harm, respond quickly to reports, or design safer digital spaces. Without clear duties and penalties for non-compliance, platforms have little incentive to prioritize user safety.
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Child online protection further exposes the limits of existing laws. While the VAPP Act criminalizes abuse, it does not provide a comprehensive framework for preventing children’s exposure to harmful content, online grooming, or exploitation on digital platforms. Stronger, child-specific digital safety standards; combined with public education, are urgently needed.
Strengthening Nigeria’s digital safety laws, therefore, does not mean discarding the VAPP Act. It means building on it. Nigeria needs a modern, dedicated digital safety framework that works alongside existing criminal and human rights laws. Such a framework should clearly define technology-facilitated harms, establish platform obligations, protect personal data, prioritize child safety, and equip institutions with the tools to enforce the law effectively; while safeguarding freedom of expression.
Crucially, these reforms must be developed through inclusive consultation with civil society, legal experts, journalists, technology companies, and everyday users. Laws written without stakeholder-input risks being either toothless or dangerously overbroad.
Nigeria stands at a crossroads. We can continue trying to force 21st-century digital harms into 20th-century legal frameworks, or we can acknowledge the limits of existing laws and act decisively. The VAPP Act was a milestone; but it was never meant to be the final word on digital safety.
