A new report has said that an estimated 68.9 million Nigerians, representing 50 per cent of the country’s 137.8 million active internet users, regularly face online harms, including cyberbullying and trolling, online impersonation and scams, child sexual exploitation, and other forms of digital abuse.
The report: ‘State of Online Harms 2025’ was presented on Monday in Abuja, at a Child Online Safety Forum, organised by the Gatefield, a public strategy and advocacy organisation, in collaboration with Paradigm Initiative and Luminate.
The report revealed other forms of online abuse users face, including gender-based harassment, online sexual abuse misinformation and disinformation, hate speech and incitement, and unsolicited pornography.
According to the report, X (formerly Twitter), a social media platform, accounts for 34 per cent of online harms, accounting for the highest, while WhatsApp messaging is a breeding ground for disinformation, and Facebook is overwhelmed by a significant scale of harmful content.
It noted that 31 per cent of reported harmful content is, however, never removed from online platforms.
The report ranked fake news as the number one digital threat, adding that 58 per cent of online harms target women.
The Advocacy Lead, Gatefield, Shirley Ewang Olanrewaju, while presenting the report, highlighted policy and regulatory gaps.
She said that existing laws do not explicitly address digital threats, revealing that some are misused to suppress free speech.
Olanrewaju also noted a lack of accountability for big tech companies, adding that platform moderation is ineffective and culturally out of touch.
The report, among others, recommended that tech firms must establish local content moderation teams.
It highlighted the need to deepen digital literacy in Nigeria and tasked the government with a comprehensive online safety bill that addresses specific digital harms without creating tools for suppression of legitimate speech.
Also, stakeholders at the forum pushed for child online safety to protect Nigerian Children in digital spaces.
The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Justice, and sponsor of the Child Online Access Protection Bill, Hon. Olumide Osoba, assured of the passage of the bill in the shortest time possible, while expressing concern about the increasing risks our children face online.
According to him, The internet, though an extraordinary tool for education, innovation, and social connection, has also become a space where children encounter cyberbullying, online grooming, identity theft, exploitation, and harmful content that threaten their safety, dignity, and mental health.
“The proposed legislation seeks to mandate internet service providers to restrict access to violent or exploitative content; penalise individuals and organisations that engage in cyberbullying, grooming, or the dissemination of intimate images of minors, and promote digital literacy and online safety education for parents, teachers, and young people,” Osoba said.
He stressed that the proposed law would establish mechanisms for prompt reporting and redress of online abuse.
He added, “This effort is not merely about legislation; it is about building a culture of online responsibility. It calls on every sector of the government, private industry, civil society, schools, and families to play their part in safeguarding our children.
“The consequences of inaction are too great to ignore, the trauma, exploitation, loss of innocence and in extreme cases, lives destroyed. Our goal must be to create a digital ecosystem that empowers rather than endangers, that educates rather than exploits.”
The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (HMRC), Prof. Tony Ojukwu, represented by Ngozi Okorie, Director, Women and Children, at the commission, urged Nigerians to report online abuse and cyber threats through its automated online reporting platform accessible via its official website www.nhrc.gov.ng.
He also said that the commission has dedicated a toll-free line: 6472, where reports related to online child abuse, cyber bullying and grooming can be made anonymously and with confidence.