The DigiCivic Initiative, in collaboration with Accountability Lab and the National Human Rights Commission, conducted a training program for judicial officers in the Federal Capital Territory.

The Digital Rights Innovation Lab Workshop aimed to enhance digital literacy within the justice sector and improve the knowledge and capacity of Judges and Magistrates on digital rights, privacy, and emerging issues.

The two-day event was attended by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Judges from the Federal High Court, Judges from the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, and the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.

The Honourable Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice JT Tsoho, praised the Facilitator for the informative discussion on digital rights and raised a crucial question about the “right to be forgotten” under the Nigerian Data Protection Act. He emphasized the importance of creating awareness about digital rights among the masses to help them better protect their rights.

The workshop revealed the significance of digital literacy in Nigeria, particularly within the justice sector. Participants learned technical terms and essential principles related to digital rights, such as Net Neutrality, access to the Internet, encryption, information technologies, censorship, Prior Restraint, cross-border transfer of data, Internet shutdowns, Network blocking, and emerging issues like the right to the Internet.

Mojirayo Ogunlana, a Digital Rights expert in the West African region, highlighted the importance of the digital environment and the role of the Judiciary in interpreting and upholding existing laws related to online freedoms, reviewing government actions that might infringe on digital rights, and holding tech companies responsible for digital rights violations.

The training aimed to increase awareness and understanding of digital rights among members of the judiciary, enhance their capacity to adjudicate digital rights cases, reinforce commitment to ethical data practices, and actively educate themselves on emerging digital technologies and their implications for human rights in the digital spac