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The Delta State Cybercrime and Prevention Bill, 2025, dressed up as a harmless piece of digital hygiene, is nothing more than another attempt to stretch the long, suffocating arm of government into the private thoughts and online expressions of citizens. It must be rejected, decisively, unapologetically, and immediately.

Hon. Emeka Nwaobi may have introduced the bill with lofty promises of “preventing cybercrime” and “protecting critical information infrastructure,” but behind that shiny language lies the unmistakable stench of a political project crafted to muzzle dissent, police public opinion, and protect the fragile egos of officials who cannot stand criticism.

This bill is not a step toward digital safety. It is a step toward digital tyranny.

A Law Nigeria Does Not Need — Because It Already Exists

Nigeria already operates under the national Cybercrime Act (2015), a law that has been repeatedly abused to arrest journalists, gag critics, and detain citizens for daring to question those in power. Add to that the existing web of criminal defamation, sedition, and libel statutes, all notorious for being used as political weapons and the picture becomes clear:

No vacancy exists for another gag law.

Delta State does not need a local copycat designed to replicate and worsen the same oppressive tendencies. If anything, the state should be fighting for reforms, not expanding the arsenal of tools available to suppress free speech.

A Bill Built for Silencing the People, Not Protecting Them

The bill’s vague references to cyberstalking, “digital misinformation,” and “protection of government information integrity” are red flags. In Nigeria, vague laws are not accidents, they are deliberate design choices.

Ambiguity is the favourite weapon of leaders who want to punish citizens selectively.

What does “misinformation” mean?

Who defines it?

Will criticism of poor governance be branded as misinformation?

Will exposing corruption be labelled cyberstalking?

Will holding public officials accountable be considered a threat to “government information security”?

Every Nigerian knows the answer.

This bill does not protect the people from cyber threats. It protects the political class from accountability.

The Problem Is Not What the Bill Says — It’s What It Enables

At a moment when Delta State residents sleep with fear in their bones, when kidnappers and armed criminals roam unchecked, when unemployment, high cost of transportation and hopelessness stalk the land, the House of Assembly has chosen to prioritize… regulating Facebook?

This is a profound moral failure.

Instead of tackling insecurity, unemployment, bad roads, decaying schools, and a suffocating economy, lawmakers are investing energy in a bill designed to police tweets and Instagram posts. It reveals a governing mindset that fears criticism more than it fears bandits. That resents accountability more than it resents poverty. That sees citizens, not criminals, as the greatest threat.

This is the same recipe for democratic decay that has haunted Nigeria for decades.

Delta State House of Assembly Must Kill This Bill — For Democracy’s Sake

The legislators of Delta State must understand the gravity of the moment. Passing this bill would not only stain the state’s democratic credentials but also set a dangerous precedent for other states to follow. Approving it would send a clear message:

that free speech is an inconvenience, that dissent is a crime, and that the government sees the people as suspects.

If the Assembly must pass a bill, let it be one that confronts insecurity, strengthens economic resilience, ensures transparency, or protects whistleblowers, not one that criminalises dissent and shields officials from scrutiny.

This Cybercrime Bill must die, not be amended. Not be delayed. Not be “reviewed.”

Killed. Buried. And never resurrected.

A Final Warning

Once such a law is passed, it will not be the “cyber-terrorists” who are first arrested — it will be journalists, activists, students, bloggers, and ordinary citizens whose only weapon is their voice.

Nigeria has seen this play out again and again.

Delta State cannot afford to repeat this authoritarian script.

The House of Assembly must choose wisely:

Side with the people or side with power.

Defend democracy or undermine it.

Kill this bill or kill free speech.

The choice is theirs — and history will remember it.