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UN urges Nigeria to hasten up the passage of Digital Rights and Freedom Bill
The United Nations has called on the Nigerian Government to speed up the passage of the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill.
This call is contained in its concluding observations from Nigeria’s review at the 126th session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee which held at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland from July 1-26, 2019.
The global body urges that Nigeria should speed up the process to pass the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill and take all necessary measures to ensure that all surveillance activities are in keeping with its obligations under article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and that any interference with the right to privacy is governed by law and conducted in accordance with the principles of necessity and proportionality and subject to effective safeguards.
Also, while noting the steps taken towards passage of the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill, the Committee is concerned about reports of website shutdowns and increased monitoring of online activities by government, particularly on social media.
The Committee is also concerned that the Terrorism (Prevention) Act and the Cybercrimes Act of 2015 provide for broad authority with respect to surveillance measures.
Adeboye Adegoke, Digital Rights Program Manager at Paradigm Initiative, while commenting on the development said “Paradigm Initiative is excited that its advocacy on Digital Rights is yielding results and getting the attention of the United Nations and other key regional and global organizations.
“Nigeria puts itself in the positive spotlight by initiating the laudable process of having a Digital Rights Law, but it must ensure that the process is completed to earn deserved commendation from across the globe and more importantly, to establish and cement its leadership position in Africa,” Adeboye concluded.
In July 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution for the “promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the internet” which condemns any country that intentionally disrupts the internet access of its citizens.
The resolution stresses that “the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online” particularly with regards to the freedom of expression already protected by Articles 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“We live in the digital age and the United Nations Human Rights Committee is emphasizing the importance of human rights in the digital age, that rights that apply offline, must apply online”, said Babatunde Okunoye, Research Officer at Paradigm Initiative.
In February this year, President Buhari declined assent to the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill after it was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate at the 8th National Assembly.
Meanwhile, stakeholders revised the Bill and asked the National Assembly to revisit the Bill. On July 16, 2019,
The Digital Rights and Freedom Bill, 2019 (HB. 98) was read on the floor of the House for first reading in the Nigerian 9th National Assembly.
The Bill must be passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate before it is sent to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
SHELT, a leading cybersecurity-as-a-service provider, has earned inclusion in the 2025 MSSP 250, the annual ranking of the world’s top 250 Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) by MSSP Alert, a CyberRisk Alliance publication.
SHELT
The list evaluates firms on business performance, service breadth, and industry impact, spotlighting those excelling in growth, operational excellence, and advanced managed security amid rising cyber threats. Selection criteria include annual recurring revenue, profitability, workforce expansion, business growth, and the depth of managed security offerings.
SHELT’s recognition underscores its investments in scalable security operations, threat intelligence, and tailored managed services across multiple regions, enabling clients to navigate complex risk landscapes effectively.
“Being recognised in the MSSP 250 is a meaningful milestone for our team,” stated Youssef Abillama, CEO of SHELT. “It validates our focus on building practical, resilient security services that help organisations manage risk and respond effectively to today’s evolving cyber threats.”
The company hailed the honour as testament to its teams’ dedication and expertise worldwide, reaffirming commitment to enhancing capabilities and delivering trusted cybersecurity solutions.
Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook, has appointed Dina Powell McCormick, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, as its new president and vice chairman, bolstering its leadership amid aggressive AI and infrastructure expansion.
Dina Powell McCormick
The announcement, made on Monday, positions Powell McCormick – who recently stepped down from Meta’s board after eight months – to guide overall strategy, including multi-billion-dollar investments in data centres and global partnerships.
A Goldman Sachs veteran with 16 years in senior roles and prior stints as deputy national security adviser under Trump and in the Bush administration, she brings deep finance and international ties to the role.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hailed her as “uniquely qualified” for the company’s next growth phase, while President Trump praised the move on Truth Social as a “fantastic choice”.
The hire signals Meta’s efforts to strengthen White House relations, following recent dinners with Trump and U.S. investment pledges worth hundreds of billions
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has suspended the @Twitter account, replacing its profile with a standard notice citing violation of platform rules.
Musk
The action, which occurred on Sunday, January 11, left users encountering the handle greeted by a bold “Account Suspended” message on a black screen, with no details provided on the specific rules broken or the duration of the suspension.
The development has sparked widespread confusion and nostalgia among users, given that Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X in July 2023, approximately six months after acquiring the platform for $44 billion in late 2022.
The @Twitter handle had remained dormant since before Musk’s takeover, serving as a legacy remnant of the platform’s original branding, and its suspension appears to mark the final erasure of the Twitter name amid X’s ongoing efforts to combat spam, impersonation, and rule violations.
X’s official statement on the suspended page simply reads: “X suspends accounts that violate our rules,” without offering an appeal process or further explanation, unlike standard user suspensions.
Public reactions on social media ranged from humorous laments of “RIP Twitter” to speculation that the move resulted from automated moderation or a deliberate cleanup of legacy trademarks.
xAI’s Grok AI described it as a purposeful retirement of outdated elements rather than a genuine infraction, while neither Elon Musk nor X spokespeople issued any comment as of Monday morning.
This incident underscores the evolving identity of the platform under Musk’s ownership, which also saw a domain shift to x.com in 2024, further distancing it from its Twitter roots.
Industry observers note that while the suspension aligns with X’s stricter enforcement policies, the lack of transparency has fueled debates on consistency in applying rules to high-profile legacy accounts.
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