A Civil Society Organisation, Citizens' Gavel, has initiated a Fundamental Rights Enforcement action at the Federal High Court of Nigeria against the messaging platform Telegram. The lawsuit accuses Telegram of failing to adequately regulate harmful content and protect users from online sexual exploitation and gender-based violence.
Investigation Findings
The group stated that the lawsuit follows findings from an investigation conducted by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), published on its fact-checking platform, DUBAWA. The investigation identified 86 Telegram channels with over 16,000 active users across several Nigerian states and university communities. According to the report, these channels were used to circulate non-consensual intimate images, advertise prostitution, recruit vulnerable individuals, and promote sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Gbami Initiative Documentation
Citizens' Gavel noted that its own casework through Gbami, its sexual and gender-based abuse response initiative, has documented similar patterns. These include cases where victims were lured into online relationships under false identities and later had intimate content shared without consent.
Rita Odafe-Ofarn, Lead of the Tech-Facilitated SGBV Response Unit at Citizens' Gavel, said in a statement yesterday that such materials were often further distributed across multiple channels and used for blackmail, extortion, and coercion into prostitution. He alleged that Telegram's moderation systems were insufficient to curb the repeated re-emergence of such groups, which often returned under new identities after being reported or removed.
Criticism of Regulatory Enforcement
The organisation also faulted enforcement efforts by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), describing regulatory action against foreign tech companies as largely ineffective. It urged NITDA to issue compliance directives to the platform, while calling on the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to step up investigations into online exploitation networks and establish specialised digital enforcement structures.
Calls for Legislation and Police Action
Citizens' Gavel called on the National Assembly to fast-track legislation on online harms that would clearly define platform responsibilities and accountability standards for technology companies operating in Nigeria. It also urged the Inspector General of Police to ensure that reports of online sexual exploitation were promptly investigated by dedicated cybercrime units.
