Accountability Lab Nigeria invites researchers, practitioners, technologists, legal experts, civic actors, and policy thinkers to submit white papers that explore bold, practical ideas for strengthening Nigeria’s digital governance landscape.

As Nigeria expands its digital infrastructure and integrates emerging technologies into systems, governance, public services, and civic life, urgent questions arise around data governance, legal coherence, citizen inclusion, and innovation that works for all. This call seeks to bridge that gap by mobilizing multidisciplinary insights to:

• Strengthen laws and policies to protect digital rights and data privacy in ways that reflect Nigeria’s needs and global best practices;
• Support clear rules for using surveillance technologies that protect security without violating personal freedoms;
• Protect freedom of expression, association, and access to information;
• Promote responsible data practices by tech companies, banks, and service providers that respect people’s rights and build public trust.

Focus Areas

We invite submissions that address the evolving intersection of rights and governance in Nigeria. Proposals should explore one or more of these thematic areas, combining critical inquiry with solutions that engage civic, private sector, and government interests:

1. 1. AI, Innovation, and the Politics of Digital Infrastructure: With growing momentum around AI regulation, startup ecosystems, and platforms, how can Nigeria build a future of innovation that reflects its cultural realities and developmental goals? What models of locally rooted, ethically grounded innovation can FMIST lead to ensure digital infrastructure strengthens, not fragments, Nigeria’s social and economic fabric?
   2. Rethinking Data Sovereignty and Cross-Border Digital Flows: Moving beyond compliance debates to challenge dominant narratives of data localization, what would a sovereign, secure, and rights-respecting data ecosystem look like for Nigeria and Africa in a globally competitive digital economy?
   3. Decoding Everyday Surveillance: Exploring how surveillance is embedded in everyday systems, from telecom registration (SIM-NIN) to financial inclusion tools, what are the hidden trade-offs for citizen privacy? What civic oversight mechanisms, legal safeguards, or policy interventions are needed to ensure national security efforts don’t erode personal freedoms or deepen inequality?
   4. Censorship by Design: Unpack how Nigeria’s internet infrastructure and content governance mechanisms are shaping what people see, say, and do online, especially during elections, conflicts, or protests. How can infrastructure policy and content governance evolve to become citizen-informed and aligned with democratic values?
   5. Digital Identity, Algorithmic Harm, and New Forms of Exclusion: Analyzing how national identity systems (NIN, BVN, NHIA, international passport) and AI-driven tools reinforce exclusion, especially for women, rural communities, migrants, and persons with disabilities, what radical, inclusion-first models of identity and public tech infrastructure can Nigeria pioneer?
   6. Intelligent Energy, Digital Infrastructure, and the Future of Inclusion: As Nigeria advances toward energy digitization through smart grids, off-grid tech, and AI-powered forecasting, what risks and opportunities emerge at the intersection of energy access, data governance, and digital inequality? Explore how digital tools used in the energy sector shape inclusion, data rights, and service equity. What does a people-first, data-conscious approach to energy innovation look like in practice?
   7. Reimagining Legal Architecture for a Digital Future: Propose innovative frameworks to modernize digital rights laws, beyond the stalled Digital Rights and Freedom Bill, to reflect evolving realities like algorithmic governance, cross-border data exchange, and platform regulation. What would a locally led, rights-based, and nationally relevant digital legal regime for the next decade look like?
   8. Corporate Surveillance and Data Capitalism: Scrutinizing how tech platforms, telecoms, and financial institutions shape civic life through data control and algorithmic governance, what collaborative governance models, civic audit tools, or ethical compliance frameworks can help align corporate power with the public interest?

Submission Guidelines

• Length: not more than 3,000 words (excluding references);
• Papers should be grounded in evidence and offer actionable policy or practical ideas;
• Co-authorship is welcomed;
• Submissions must be original and not under review elsewhere;
• Format: PDF, Oxford referencing style. Papers should embody this structure—background to the study, problem statement, objectives of the study, literature review, data presentation, discussion of findings, policy recommendations, and conclusion—depending on the nature of the paper and the evidence available. 
• Call open: 22nd May, 2025
• Submission of of Abstract: 6th June, 2025
• Notification of Abstracts accepted: 10th June, 2025
• Submission of  the full paper: 30th June, 2025
• Submit to: Nigeria@accountabilitylab.org

Review & Benefits

• The top 10 papers will be:
  • Published in two open-access publishing platforms;
  • Used for broader advocacy engagement with the relevant government agencies, including the judiciary and legislature.
  • Researchers whose papers are accepted for publication will be entitled to an honorarium of N100,000