By BONIFACE AKARAH

A coalition of civil society organisations has called for an urgent investigation into reports of an unexplained disruption of TikTok access in parts of northern Nigeria, saying the issue has persisted for more than two weeks without a public explanation.

The coalition, in a joint statement issued in Lagos on Friday, October 2, 2026, said preliminary investigations indicated that users in Kaduna, Kebbi, Kano and Sokoto had experienced difficulties accessing TikTok since around September 14. The groups said the disruption had affected users’ ability to load videos, view content and upload material through ordinary mobile-data connections.

The CSOs said the problem did not appear to be attributable to a single internet service provider, noting that some users had reportedly regained access through virtual private networks (VPNs).

However, the organisations stressed that they had not established the cause of the disruption, listing technical failure, network-routing problems, platform-side malfunction, traffic-management measures and intentional restriction among the possibilities.

“The reports and information have not, however, established whether the disruption results from a technical failure, a network routing problem, a platform-side malfunction, a traffic management measure, or an intentional restriction,” the statement said.

The coalition said it was using the neutral description “TikTok Disruption” pending further technical evidence, but expressed concern over what it described as more than two weeks of institutional silence.

“While we adopt the neutral term ‘TikTok Disruption’ pending further technical evidence, over two weeks of institutional silence is cause of concern,” the groups said.

The organisations said access to digital platforms had become important to communication, journalism, civic participation, business and public discourse, adding that unexplained disruptions could affect both civic activity and economic activity.

They called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and relevant departments of affected state governments to investigate the reports in cooperation with mobile network operators, internet service providers and TikTok.

The groups also demanded that the findings of any investigation be made public.

On the possibility of an intentional restriction, the coalition said any government or regulatory action affecting access to TikTok should have a clear legal basis and meet applicable human-rights requirements.

It cited Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which protects freedom of expression, including the right to receive and impart ideas and information, subject to constitutionally permitted limitations.

The CSOs also referred to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, saying restrictions on freedom of expression and access to information should be provided by law, serve a legitimate interest and be necessary in a democratic society.

The coalition further called for immediate disclosure if any government institution had issued an instruction, directive, request or order affecting TikTok access.

“If any government institution has issued an instruction, directive, request or order affecting TikTok access, the relevant authority should publicly disclose the existence of such an instruction, directive, request or order; its legal basis, scope, duration and purpose,” the statement said.

The groups also urged telecommunications operators to provide timely information to consumers about major network disruptions, including their nature, extent and expected restoration period.

They asked the NCC to clarify whether the reported TikTok disruption had been logged as a network incident and, where applicable, require affected operators to provide consumer information and remedies.

The coalition called for independent technical measurements in affected areas to distinguish an ordinary technical outage from deliberate or inadvertent network-level interference.

It said such testing should examine possible DNS interference, IP or domain blocking, Server Name Indication (SNI) or protocol interference, throttling, routing anomalies and application-specific filtering.

The groups also proposed comparisons between mobile networks, mobile and fixed-line connections, as well as affected and unaffected geographical areas.

On access to information, the coalition said digital platforms were increasingly linked to the exercise of other rights, including freedom of expression, access to information, association, education and participation in public affairs.

It urged the government to avoid using national-security or public-order concerns as a blanket basis for restricting access to an entire platform.

“Any intervention should be based on demonstrable evidence, lawful authority and appropriate procedural safeguards,” the organisations said.

The coalition also called for greater consultation between government agencies, civil society organisations, technical experts, academia, affected users and industry representatives when significant online-platform disruptions are investigated.

The groups cited the Federal Government's July 2026 decision, announced by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr ‘Bosun Tijani, to establish a Joint Technical Coordination Committee involving the NCC, NITDA and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

According to the statement, the committee was established to coordinate technical engagements, undertake broad consultations with industry, civil society and academia, and develop recommendations for a harmonised national policy and governance framework.

The CSOs further called for protection of users, journalists, researchers and civil society organisations documenting the reported disruption through lawful means.

“Users, journalists, researchers and CSOs should be free to document and report Internet disruptions through lawful means,” the coalition said, adding that people should not be intimidated, harassed, arrested or penalised merely for reporting access difficulties, conducting legitimate network measurements or discussing the implications of an apparent disruption.

The groups also cautioned against unnecessary or overly broad restrictions on VPNs.

They said the fact that some users had regained access to TikTok through VPNs should not, by itself, be treated as evidence of unlawful conduct, adding that any attempt to restrict VPNs or other technologies used for lawful access to communications services should also meet requirements of legality, legitimate purpose, necessity and proportionality.

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