As Nigeria heads toward general elections in February 2027, journalists, investigative researchers, human rights defenders, and civil society organisations face escalating surveillance from state and non-state actors seeking to track their sources, intercept their communications, and undermine their work before it reaches the public. Without strong digital protection, those working to expose electoral fraud, document human rights abuses, and counter disinformation are themselves placed at serious risk.
Webfala Digital Skills for all Initiative will mark Global Encryption Day 2026 with a hybrid workshop in Ilorin, Kwara State, bringing together approximately 100 journalists, investigative researchers, human rights defenders, and CSO practitioners from across Nigeria, joining both in person and online. The event will demonstrate practical, end-to-end encrypted tools and workflows across four critical areas of their work: collecting and preserving digital evidence without exposing its origin, verifying the authenticity of user-generated content and combating disinformation, securely storing sensitive files and source materials, and protecting the identity of confidential sources from interception or compelled disclosure.
The purpose of the event is to show, in concrete and hands-on terms, how end-to-end encryption directly protects civic and journalistic work under threat, and to grow a community of Nigerian information defenders who actively use and advocate for encrypted tools rather than treating digital security as optional or purely technical.
By the end of the event, participants will be able to use at least one end-to-end encrypted tool for secure storage and one for secure communication in their daily reporting and advocacy work; apply a basic verification workflow to assess digital content before publication or use as evidence; and identify at least one current Nigerian policy or surveillance practice that threatens encrypted communication, which they can speak about within their own networks. The event will also produce a public-facing set of participant testimonials and a short resource guide, reinforcing Global Encryption Day’s message that strong encryption protects the people whose work protects democracy.
