By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
Experts call for urgent reforms as spyware, gendered threats, and state-backed monitoring undermine democracy across the continent.
DIGITAL SURVEILLANCE is tightening its grip across Africa, threatening press freedom and weakening democratic foundations, as speakers at the 17th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture urged swift reforms to confront the mounting dangers faced by journalists.
The virtual gathering, held on 13 July 2025, brought together leading voices in investigative journalism, media advocacy and civic activism, warning that state-backed spying, intimidation and legal suppression are fast becoming the norm, not the exception.
Themed “Surveillance, Safety And The Silencing Of Truth,” the lecture spotlighted the escalating risks facing reporters across the continent.
From spyware and metadata harvesting to personal threats targeting women journalists, participants painted a sobering picture of an information landscape under siege.
Angela Quintal, Regional Director for Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists, led the keynote, warning that the silent war against journalism is being waged through sophisticated technologies that enable repression and silence dissent without physical violence.
Quintal described surveillance as a tool of fear, stating that invasive monitoring practices jeopardise reporters’ ability to protect sources and carry out investigations.
Her account also referenced transnational tracking and her own experience of detention in Tanzania.
She also cited the spread of these tactics in Nigeria, South Africa, Togo and Botswana, urging African governments to adopt stringent privacy laws and establish robust digital security systems to defend press freedom.
Dapo Olorunyomi, Founder of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism and Chief Executive of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, opened the forum by stating that surveillance has evolved into a systemic threat that undermines both personal safety and democratic structures.
He acknowledged the power of digital tools in expanding storytelling reach but warned of the risks posed by unchecked state and corporate intrusion.
Fisayo Soyombo, founder and editor-in-chief of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, voiced concern that rising attacks are disillusioning a new generation of reporters.
He shared messages from journalism students expressing fear and doubt about entering the profession.
Soyombo criticised the Nigerian government for prioritising surveillance technologies over citizen safety, urging society to see attacks on the media as direct violations of their own rights.
ARTICLE 19 Executive Director Quinn McKew explained that the drive for surveillance is embedded in wider authoritarian strategies designed to dominate narratives and crush dissent.
Governments are increasingly leveraging cybercrime laws and national security frameworks to justify digital monitoring. She called for a global ban on spyware exports, along with stronger data protection measures to safeguard journalists and the public.
Sonja Smith, a Namibian correspondent with the Associated Press, drew attention to gendered surveillance tactics aimed at silencing women journalists.
She spoke of smear campaigns, threats of sexual violence, and coercive monitoring practices targeting women in Southern Africa, especially those working outside urban centres or formal media institutions. Smith urged donors and platforms to invest in the safety of underrepresented voices.
In her closing remarks, WSCIJ Executive Director Motunrayo Alaka warned that surveillance is fostering a climate of fear that weakens public participation and media independence.
She noted the WSCIJ has convened multiple forums to counter civic space shrinkage and now offers mental health support and data-driven advocacy tools to support at-risk journalists. She called on media owners and editors to step up as vocal defenders of press freedom and civic rights.
Alaka also explained that the lecture, held annually to commemorate the birthday of Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, who turned 91 this year, has become a key platform for shaping public interest discourse in Nigeria.
She recalled that past editions have influenced national reforms, including the June 2025 passage of the tax reform law, rooted in recommendations first proposed during the 2016 lecture.
