- Safiu Kehinde
At least 16 people were killed in 245 cases of civic rights violation in 2025, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) revealed in its latest report on journalism and civic space status.
The WSCJI, on Thursday, unveiled the 144-page report themed ‘Silenced Voices, Shrinking Space: Civic Freedoms Under Pressure’ during its Journalist’ Timeout session.
The comprehensive report evaluated the state of civic space in Nigeria between January and December 2025.
It also highlights trends of systematic repression, institutional restrictions, and the escalating vulnerability of journalists, civil society actors, and ordinary citizens.
The report documented 245 verified incidents of civic space infractions referenced across 570 media reports published by 54 media organisations.
While 23 death cases were reported, the WSCIJ confirmed at least 16 deaths which occurred across seven fatal incidents, representing 12.3% of all fatal incidents recorded during the reporting period.
The confirmed death record also represented 23 percent out of the 100 violent cases of civic rights violations recorded by the centre.
While fatal incidents were relatively few compared with other forms of civic space violations, they constituted the gravest category of abuse because of their irreversible consequences.
The WSCIJ traced these fatalities to civic activities such as protests and elections with reference to some media publications which reported the deaths.
‘These deaths demonstrate how civic activities—including protests, elections, and other forms of public participation—can escalate into lethal violence.
‘In several instances, a single incident resulted in multiple fatalities, significantly increasing both the human cost and the severity of the violations.
‘For example, TheCable reported on 16 February 2025 that a violent protest erupted in Ifon, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, following the alleged torture and death of a young man in police custody.
‘According to the report, the unrest began after two young men were arrested following a fight, with one reportedly dying after alleged torture while in detention.
‘Similarly, ThisDay documented the killing of a voter during the 2025 Osun State local government elections in Ilesa West Local Government Area, an incident that occurred while citizens were peacefully exercising their democratic rights.
‘In another incident, Platform Times reported on 3 December 2025 that at least two protesters were killed and two others critically injured in Irunda-Ile, Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State, after security operatives allegedly opened fire on demonstrators protesting rising insecurity in the community.
‘Likewise, The Guardian reported on 29 March 2025 that clashes between protesters and security personnel during a pro-Palestinian procession organised by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) in Abuja resulted in the deaths of eleven protesters and one soldier.’ The report partly read.
Aside the death record, other forms of violent violations of civic right recorded in the WSCIJ report included teargassing which was the most prevalent form with 33 cases.
This is followed by assault recorded in 28 cases with four cases of threat and 12 other cases of violent violations.
Citizens At Receiving End of Most Civic Rights Violation in 2025
Meanwhile, the reports noted that out of the entire 245 civic rights violation cases recorded, citizens fall victim of most of the incident with 113 cases, representing the 54.3 percent of the report.
This would be followed by journalists with 60 reported incidents while activists recorded 35 cases.
Media organisations were involved in 15 cases of civic right violations while union members recorded the least with two cases.
WSCIJ affirmed that citizens were most frequently exposed to direct confrontations during protests and other forms of public participation.
Journalists and activists, by contrast, were often targeted because of their roles in documenting events, disseminating information, demanding accountability, and amplifying public concerns.
Police Tops Chat of State Actors Involved in Civic Rights Violation
The WSCIJ’s 2025 Civic Right Violation report also categorised the perpetrators of this violation with state actors standing out as the primary drivers of the act.
An analysis of the monitored incidents shows that state actors, mainly law enforcement agents, were responsible for 219 (89.4%) of the recorded cases, while non-state actors, mainly armed groups, hired thugs, militias, and cult groups accounted for 26 (10.6%).
Interestingly, the Nigeria Police Force topped the chat of the state actors involved in civic rights violation as they were responsible for 118 cases which represents 54.0 percent of the violation involving state actors.
They were followed by the state governments with 18 cases and the Department of State Services, DSS, with 17 cases.
Others include political office holders with nine cases, FG-owned university management with 10 cases, National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, with seven cases, and Nigerian Army with four cases amongst others.
The WSCIJ in the report cited publications which affirmed the police involvement in the civic rights violation.
Other notable data gathered in the 2025 WSCIJ Civic Right Violation Report included the states where these violations were recorded and events which contributed to the violations.
The complete report can be download here: https://tinyurl.com/journalismandcivicspacereport.