The Center For Advancement of Civil Liberties And Development, AKA Centre For Liberty (CFL) is a tripartite coalition of direct action groups who have been involved in several advocacies in Nigeria. This includes the popular #SayNoToSocialMediaBill campaign, #EndSARS campaign, #NaWeBeGovernment (nationwide social contract advocacy), #AbujaPoliceRaidOnWomen ( AbujaRaids) campaign, among other strategic interventions with which we have interacted with different rights groups, rightsholders, vulnerable groups and a myriad of other Nigerians. Over time, this has contributed to the wealth of experience in engaging social issues.

Our experiences during our past direct actions and advocacies have informed our approach to addressing social issues with specific impact-focused interventions and solutions. The DFA, therefore, has been developed on the strength of our capacity as a direct action group to rightsholders and the common people of Nigeria. Additionally, our existing relationships with former and current progressive members of the National Assembly has been a source of inspiration and encouragement for embarking on this important advocacy.

The Digital Freedom Advocacy (DFA) project is an emergency intervention that has been designed to mobilize Nigerians to ensure the withdrawal of the “Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill 2019” and the“National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speeches Bill, 2019” before the 9th National Assembly, through digital advocacy and a series of direct actions.

These two newly proposed bills are the latest attempt to shrink civic spaces in Nigeria. These bills are a major threat to the human rights of women, young people and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria who consider the social media and other media platforms as their primary, if not the only medium of expression.

The overall goal of the DFA project is to galvanize the citizens towards convincing the 9th National Assembly that the proposed bills are a threat to civic spaces in Nigeria and as such must be withdrawn. This is being realised through Social Media Action, Traditional Media Engagement, Direct Action and engagement as well as legislative action. Then a final reflection workshop with all the stakeholders including CFL and Voice Rightsholders, especially youth and women to reflect on the activities that dominated the DFA project and the successes, challenges and lessons from the project.