A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has called on the Federal Government and relevant regulatory agencies to investigate the reported disruption of TikTok services in parts of Northern Nigeria.
Ravenewsonline reports that the coalition, comprising 12 organisations working on digital rights, freedom of expression and access to information, said the disruption, which reportedly began around Sept. 14, had affected users in Kaduna, Kebbi, Kano and Sokoto states.
In a joint statement, the organisations expressed concern that the reported disruption had persisted for more than two weeks without an official explanation.
They said preliminary investigations indicated that millions of users, including those who rely on the platform for their livelihoods, had experienced difficulties loading TikTok, viewing videos and uploading content through regular mobile data connections.
The coalition, however, said it had yet to establish whether the disruption was caused by technical failures, network routing problems, a malfunction on TikTok’s platform, traffic management measures or an intentional restriction.
It noted that some users had reportedly regained access to the platform through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
The organisations said the absence of an official explanation had raised concerns about transparency and accountability, particularly given the growing importance of digital platforms to communication, business, journalism and civic participation.
They urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and relevant state government agencies to investigate the incident in collaboration with telecommunications operators, internet service providers and TikTok.
The coalition also called for the immediate cessation of any deliberate restriction of access to TikTok that lacked a clear legal basis and failed to meet applicable human rights standards.
It said any restriction must satisfy the requirements of legality, legitimate purpose, necessity and proportionality, in line with Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which guarantees freedom of expression.
The organisations further urged the government to disclose any directive, request or order issued by a government institution that might have affected access to the platform.
They said such disclosure should include the legal basis, scope, duration and purpose of any government action.
The coalition also called on the NCC to clarify whether the reported disruption had been recorded as a network incident and, where applicable, require affected telecommunications operators to provide timely information to consumers.
It recommended independent technical assessments in affected areas to determine the cause of the disruption and establish whether there had been deliberate or inadvertent interference with internet services.
The proposed tests, it said, should examine possible Domain Name System (DNS) interference, IP or domain blocking, throttling, routing anomalies, application-specific filtering and differences in access across mobile networks and geographical locations.
The organisations stressed that access to digital platforms was increasingly linked to fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, access to information, education, association and participation in public affairs.
They urged authorities to ensure that national security considerations were not used as a blanket justification for restricting access to entire digital platforms.
According to the coalition, any legitimate security concerns should be addressed through targeted measures against specific unlawful conduct or content, rather than broad restrictions affecting millions of users.
It also called on the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, NCC, NITDA and ONSA to establish a mechanism for engaging civil society organisations, technical experts, academics, affected users and industry representatives in investigating major internet disruptions.
The coalition referenced the Federal Government’s July 2026 decision to establish a Joint Technical Coordination Committee comprising representatives of the NCC, NITDA and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), under the leadership of the Office of the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
It said the committee’s mandate to coordinate technical engagements and consult relevant stakeholders could provide a platform for addressing the reported disruption.
The coalition further called on the government and security agencies to refrain from intimidating, harassing or arresting users, journalists and researchers for reporting the disruption or conducting legitimate network tests.
It also cautioned against imposing unnecessary restrictions on VPNs, noting that their use to access TikTok did not, in itself, constitute evidence of unlawful conduct.
The organisations urged TikTok to publicly clarify whether it had identified technical problems affecting users in Northern Nigeria or made changes to its infrastructure, routing or content-delivery systems that could have contributed to the disruption.
They also called for the establishment of a national internet disruption transparency protocol requiring authorities and service providers to promptly disclose significant outages, their causes, affected locations, restoration timelines and any government directives involved.
The coalition said such a framework would help reduce uncertainty, prevent misinformation and strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
It urged the NCC and other relevant authorities to publish a comprehensive investigation report detailing the cause of the disruption, affected networks and locations, any government involvement and measures taken to prevent a recurrence.
The organisations said they would continue to monitor reports from affected users, engage relevant stakeholders and seek further information as investigations progressed.
The statement was jointly issued by Accountability Lab Nigeria, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab (DigiAfricaLab), DigiCivic Initiative, Gatefield, Hope Behind Bars Africa, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Paradigm Initiative (PIN), RACE Africa, Spaces for Change (S4C), TechHerNG and TechSocietal.
