Title:
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND PROTECTION OF ONLINE PRESS FREEDOM IN NIGERIA, 2015-2019

Authors:
Dr. Okey Oji ,Raymond Adibe Phd* and Okorie Albert ,Nigeria

Abstract:
This study examined the link between Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and protection of online press freedom in Nigeria. It specifically focused on the role of CSO in advocating for greater online freedom for journalists and protection of their lives in an illiberal democracy like Nigeria where government continuously tries to suppress the media to avoid negative reporting. The framework of analysis is based on the concept of illiberal democracy developed by Fareed zakaria and we adopted a mixed method of data collection. The study found that public consciousness has increased on the importance of a free media in Nigeria as a result of the efforts of CSOs but a lot still needs to be done to improve Nigeria’s ranking and status as a partly free nation when it comes to press and internet freedom. Also, the study found out that while CSOs’ advocacy strategy has helped secure the release of online journalists detained arbitrarily, a lot still needs to be done to advance online press freedom in Nigeria. Thus, the study recommends that there is need for more collaboration between CSOs and democratic groups to advocate for the promotion of a democratic project in Nigeria that prioritizes economic prosperity of the citizens and sees it as inextricably linked to political freedom. The importance of promoting liberal democratic tenets in post-colonial authoritarian and illiberal states like Nigeria is imperative for ensuring online press freedom.