Human rights in Nigeria are protected under the current constitution of 1999. While Nigeria has made major improvements in human rights under this constitution, the American Human Rights Report of 2012 notes several areas where more improvement is needed, which includes: abuses by Boko Haram, killings by government forces, lack of social equality and issues with freedom of speech. The Human Rights Watch's 2015 World Report states that intensified violence by Boko Haram, restrictions of LGBTIQ rights and government corruption continue to undermine the status of human rights in Nigeria.
History since independence
In the period between Nigeria's independence in 1960 and return to democracy in 1999, the country had two Heads of State, one appointed, one military successor and 7 coups d'état i.e military junta. A coup d'état in simple terms means a war fought amongst military leaders heading a state to usurp or overthrow the incumbent head of state or head of government and take over power from them , either because the incumbent is a corrupt one or is incapable of fulfilling all his supposed agendas for the country within the specified time frame of his administration. In 1979, Nigeria adopted a presidential system to properly instate the right of choosing who rules them with a new constitution. This constitution guarantees fundamental human rights that are constantly in violation.
The regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, among others, was noted for egregious human rights abuses.
Although Nigeria has been active in signing and ratifying international human rights treaties over the years, it has seen challenges when trying to implement these treaties domestically. Nigeria operates under a dualist system and cannot apply international treaties unless they are ratified by the legislative houses in Nigeria. Furthermore, the Nigerian constitution protects civil and political rights, but international treaties like the African Charter also expand protection to cultural, socio-economic, and group rights. Because the Nigerian constitution is the supreme law, the Supreme Court of Nigeria often resolves conflicts in favour of the Constitution, therefore restricting the expansion of potential human rights.
Freedom of expression
When General ibrahim Babangida took over government in 1985 and repealed Decree No. 4 of 1984, a law that made it criminal behaviour to publish any material that was considered embarrassing or against the interests of the government, there was renewed hope for freedom of expression both by the people and the media. Within the Babangida regime, political tolerance occurred for some time. However, this brief foray into human rights broke down when the regime began jailing its critics and firing employees who did not promote their views and ideas. The Babangida regime closed down more newspapers and banned more popular organizations than any other in Nigeria's post-colonial history.
The paparazzi in Nigeria was often subject to scare tactics and intimidation. Journalists were subjected to "chats" with the State Security Service that involved threatening and possible imprisonment. There were continually newspaper shutdowns. In 1990, The Republic, Newbreed, Lagos Daily News, The Punch, and various other newspapers were shut down at some point by the federal government.
In 1999, freedom of expression became protected by the new Nigerian Constitution However, defamation laws were afterwards passed
Critics maintain that though measures of freedom of the press have improved, there is still room for improvement. Nigeria was described as "partly free" in the Freedom of the Press 2011 report published by the Freedom House (see yearly rankings in Freedom House ratings in Nigeria section).
On 26 April 2020, the Reporter without Borders World Press Freedom Index ranked Nigeria 115 out of 180 countries surveys. Reporters without Borders cited killing, detention and brutalisation of journalists alongside targeted attempts to shrink the civic space by the Nigerian Government as a reason for the ranking. However, this rank is higher than the 146 ranks which Transparency International gave Nigeria earlier in the year with regards to corruption The Reporters without Borders report further stated "With more than 100 independent newspapers, Africa's most populous nation enjoys real media pluralism but covering stories involving politics, terrorism or financial embezzlement by the powerful is very problematic."
On 24 July 2020, the United Nations official urged the Nigerian authorities to immediately release a prominent human rights defender Mubarak Bala, who has been detained for more than two months without charges, on accusations of blasphemy.