How online harassment forces female activists out of Nigeria’s civic space

When Pauline Kuje, a journalist and human rights activist posted a story about a pastor who allegedly assaulted a married woman in Maiduguri, she thought she was exposing injustice; instead, she became the target. Relatives of the accused trailed her online and even confronted her physically, hurling abuse and attempting to slap her.

As a journalist and human rights activist based in Borno State, Mrs Kuje has spent years amplifying the voices of women and children silenced by conflict and inequality. However, her outspokenness has made her a target in Nigeria’s volatile digital landscape, where gender, power and visibility often intersect.

“During the course of my work, I have often faced online intimidation, especially when reporting on sensitive issues like gender-based violence and abuse of power. People send threats, insult me and try to discredit my work, all because I am speaking for the voiceless,” she said.

Mrs Kuje said the constant attacks, from coordinated trolling to mocking posts had taken a toll on her mental health.

She recounted publishing a verified report about a pastor who assaulted a married woman in her community, where she expected outrage, not at her, but at the injustice; instead, the backlash came fast and furious, especially in the digital space, which translated to physical attack.

“After I posted it, his relatives began harassing me, both online and offline. One of them confronted me at the court premises, insulted me and even tried to slap me. When I shared the video, people twisted the story, accusing me of attacking religious figures,” she said, explaining how the digital space has become very hot for her at that moment.

She recalled one frightening moment in 2022 when the Monday Market in Maiduguri was on fire when she went to cover the story. She overheard some people who recognised her from social media saying, ‘Isn’t that the woman who always reports gender-based issues?’ They almost attacked me. It shows how online hate can spill into real life,” she added.

The pattern is familiar to many women in Nigeria’s civic and media spaces. “These attacks are meant to demoralise and silence us. Persistent attacks on digital space also often lead to physical attacks. I have become more careful. Sometimes I keep reports for my newsroom instead of social media because I have to live to tell the story. I trade with care now,” she noted.

Like Mrs Kuje, like other women

Ms Kuje’s experience reflects that of other Nigerian women activists, including Zainab Nasir Ahmad, a youth advocate based in Kano. Like Ms Kuje, Ms Ahmad said her activism also made her a target of online intimidation.

“People called me names; some even used my picture to make insulting memes. It was painful,” she lamented.

The Kano-based women’s rights activist described a steady stream of derogatory comments, sexualised slurs and private messages intended to humiliate and frighten her into silence.

At one point, after social-media users picked up a debate about Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai’s marriage and paired it with Ms Ahmad’s photo; the abuse escalated.

One of the users she said persistently harassed her online was later arrested. “I had to report to the security agencies and they arrested him and made him retract the statement,” she said.

The hostility, she said, pushed many of her peers out of activism. “We started as eight or 10 women, but most of them have stopped because of societal and online pressure. Only a few of us are still active,” Ms Ahmad said.

For her, the harassment has not been limited to insults. After she led a protest against banditry and kidnappings in northern Nigeria, security agents invited her for questioning. She was detained briefly by the State Security Service in Kano. The public reaction that followed was split: some defended her right to protest, others attacked her for daring to lead as a woman.

For Ms Ahmad, the emotional toll remains stark. “It is like an everyday thing. You just wake up to see someone insulting you or twisting your words. It has become normal though it still hurts sometimes,” she said.

Their experiences reflect a broader pattern of digital hostility that is shrinking civic participation for women and creating a culture of fear across online spaces

Silencing women, a global trend

The experiences of Mrs Kuje and Ms Ahmad are not isolated. Globally and in Nigeria, women who speak out on politics, human rights or corruption are increasingly subjected to digital abuse designed to intimidate, discredit and silence them.

A 2020 global survey by UNESCO and the International Centre for Journalists revealed that nearly three out of four women journalists worldwide (73 per cent) had experienced some form of online violence.

The findings, based on responses from nearly 900 journalists in 125 countries, show a crisis that extends beyond digital spaces. Many respondents reported receiving threats of physical and sexual violence, and a significant number said online harassment had led to real-world confrontations and safety risks.

According to the report, women were targeted with misogynistic insults, digitally altered images, doxxing, deepfake pornography and smear campaigns aimed at undermining their professional credibility. The UNESCO study also found that online abuse frequently led women to self-censor, withdrawing from digital engagement or abandoning journalism altogether.

Four per cent of respondents said they had quit their jobs due to online abuse, while two per cent reported leaving journalism entirely. Nearly 40 per cent said they had reduced their public visibility, using pseudonyms, avoiding high-profile work or stepping back from the social media to limit exposure to harm. Similarly, Ms Kuje now censors sensitive information on her social media accounts to avoid online harassment.

Similarly, a 2024 report titled, “Hidden Battles” by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), documented widespread patterns of online abuse targeting Nigerian women in the media.

The report found that female journalists were routinely subjected to sexualised slurs, digital stalking, the non-consensual circulation of private images and sustained efforts to discredit their work and reputations.

Similarly, a recent study on Online Harassment of Female Journalists in Lagos State shows how widespread and damaging digital abuse has become within Nigeria’s media space. The research found that 83.6 per cent of female journalists in the state rely heavily on online platforms to carry out their professional duties, yet the same spaces have become hostile environments riddled with harassment and intimidation. Nearly three out of five respondents, about 59 per cent, reported being harassed on the social media while performing their functions.

The study also reveals the coping mechanisms and survival tactics many women have adopted in response to these threats. Fifty-seven per cent said they now alter their online behaviour out of fear of being attacked, and frequently adjust their privacy settings to limit exposure.

The findings mirror the experiences of Pauline Kuje in Borno and Zainab Nasir Ahmed in Kano. Both of whom have learned to self-censor or restrict their engagements online to protect their safety.

With more Nigerians engaging in digital spaces, attacks on female activists and journalists have grown in frequency and intensity. The rise in online participation has not translated to safer civic engagement for women; instead, it has exposed them to greater risk of targeted abuse and defamation.

Legal protection: Gaps in tackling online harassment

Nigeria has a range of laws intended to protect women from harassment and intimidation, both offline and online, but weak enforcement and unclear provisions have left many women vulnerable.

At the federal level, the Cybercrimes Prohibition, Prevention, Act of 2015 (2024 as amended) criminalises cyberstalking, online threats and the transmission of offensive or distressing messages. The amended law also recognises gender-based online abuse, an issue increasingly faced by female journalists, politicians and activists.

Similarly, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP Act) of 2015 provides remedies for victims of psychological, emotional and sexual abuse, including acts of harassment and intimidation. Yet, its enforcement is limited to the Federal Capital Territory and few states. Many states are yet to domesticate the law, leaving a patchwork of protections that expose women in some regions to greater risk.

For victims like Mrs Kuje and Ms Ahmad, this gap in enforcement means that, despite existing laws, there is little real protection when online abuse spills into their daily lives.

Although Borno has domesticated the VAPP Act, weak implementation still leaves victims of digital abuse like Ms Kuje without effective protection. At the same time, in Kano State, where the law is yet to be adopted, activists like Ms Ahmad face an even deeper vacuum of justice when online threats turn into real-world danger.

Weak enforcement emboldens online abusers – Lawyer

A human rights lawyer, Frank Tietie, lamented that despite the existence of strong laws protecting women from online abuse and cyber harassment, enforcement remains very weak, leaving many female activists vulnerable and demoralised.

Tietie said that although Nigeria had “fantastic laws” backed by international conventions like the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), many of those provisions remain inactive because victims rarely seek redress and authorities seldom act on violations.

“We have very fantastic laws that protect women, especially with conventions Nigeria has ratified, like CEDAW, but the practice is very different. You hardly find cases where women’s rights are protected, even by the courts,” he said.

According to him, the lack of confidence among victims and lawyers to approach the courts has weakened the implementation of these legal safeguards.

“If lawyers and women are not confident enough to give motion to those laws and standards, we will continue to witness this failure and the reduction of women’s rights in the public space,” he said.

Tietie described the amendment to the Cybercrimes Act as a positive development, noting that it should be used more decisively to punish those who weaponise the internet against women.

“I think that where people deliberately and consciously use their phones to damage the reputation of any woman, such persons should face the wrath of the law. It should not just be a civil wrong, it should indeed be treated as a criminal offence,” he said.

He expressed concern that despite the law, no major case has led to a conviction, saying, “We haven’t seen many people sent to prison because of the fake news or damaging information they spread about women. By the time we see some persons thrown into prison, others will be afraid.”

The lawyer blamed the growing trend of online intimidation and defamation on the monetisation of the social media, saying it has made the female gender an easy target for cheap popularity and engagement.

He noted that the hostility female activists face online had forced many to withdraw from public life. “It is a very difficult space for women to operate. Some have been driven out entirely,” he noted.

He attributed this to deep-rooted cultural beliefs that discourage women from being outspoken.

Tietie called on female activists not to give up although the challenge has persisted, saying that persistence is key to changing perceptions.

This story was produced as part of Dataphyte Foundation’s project on “Addressing Digital Surveillance and Digital Rights Abuse by State and Non-State Actors,” with support from Spaces for Change.

This story was produced as part of Dataphyte Foundation’s project on “Addressing Digital Surveillance and Digital Rights Abuse by State and Non-State Actors,” with support from Spaces for Change.

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