Nigeria is expanding the powers of its security institutions at the same time many of the bodies meant to hold public power accountable are showing signs of weakness.
Development Diaries reports that the country’s House of Representatives has passed a bill seeking to establish a Department of State Services (DSS) Research Bureau to strengthen intelligence research and develop indigenous security technology.
The proposal arrives at a time when confidence in Nigeria’s accountability institutions is already under pressure, with a former DSS director recently admitting that the appointment of former communications minister Isa Pantami exposed weaknesses in the country’s security-vetting process, while the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) postponed its own national election indefinitely following protests over the process.
At the same time, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has closed continuous voter registration (CVR) ahead of the 2027 general election, leaving millions of eligible Nigerians unable to register despite the Electoral Act describing the process as continuous.
While each development may appear unrelated, they point to institutions struggling to demonstrate the transparency and accountability expected of them even as government continues to expand the powers of agencies responsible for surveillance and national security.
The concern is that new security powers are advancing more quickly than the mechanisms designed to supervise them, and weak vetting for public office, delayed internal elections within professional bodies and barriers to voter registration all suggest that oversight is becoming weaker precisely when citizens need it to become stronger.
The National Assembly has the responsibility to ensure that new security legislation contains effective safeguards against abuse, while the presidency and the DSS must demonstrate that appointments and intelligence operations remain subject to transparent accountability.
Also, the NBA faces pressure to restore confidence in its internal democratic processes, while INEC is expected to ensure that voter registration remains genuinely accessible to every eligible Nigerian.
Chapter Four of Nigeria’s constitution guarantees the rights to privacy, expression and association, all of which become more vulnerable when intelligence agencies gain broader powers without corresponding oversight.
The constitution also guarantees citizens’ political participation, while Nigeria’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities require that electoral registration remain accessible to persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups.
The consequences fall hardest on citizens with the least influence, with persons with disabilities still facing physical and logistical barriers to voter registration, rural communities remaining underserved by electoral infrastructure, and civil society organisations advocating for transparency often becoming the first to experience the effects of unchecked surveillance powers.
As oversight weakens, those with political influence find ways to navigate the system while those without it become increasingly exposed.
Legal and governance experts have long argued that legislation expanding intelligence powers should include clear parliamentary oversight, periodic independent review and sunset clauses requiring lawmakers to reconsider those powers after a defined period instead of allowing them to continue indefinitely without scrutiny.
Citizens, legal organisations and civil society groups should demand that the proposed DSS Research Bureau legislation contains enforceable oversight and sunset provisions, while also pressing the NBA to conclude its internal elections transparently and requiring INEC to guarantee accessible voter registration for persons with disabilities and underserved communities.
The National Assembly should subject the proposed legislation to extensive public hearings focused on civil-liberty safeguards before final passage, while INEC should publish disaggregated voter-registration data showing access across rural communities, persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups so citizens can assess whether electoral participation is truly being expanded or quietly narrowed.
