KDI unveils civic platform to track rights violations

By Abubakar Yunusa

As political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) on Friday unveiled new civic engagement platforms aimed at documenting human rights abuses, electoral violations and restrictions on civic space across the country.

The organisation said the initiative would help promote accountability by ensuring that incidents of abuse and intimidation are properly reported, tracked and followed up.

Speaking at the National Dialogue on Civic Space and the public launch of the Naija Civic Space Platform in Abuja, KDI Executive Director, Bukola Idowu, said Nigeria could no longer afford to ignore violations that undermine democratic participation.

The Naija Civic Space Platform was developed under the Building Resilient Spaces (BRS) project to strengthen civic engagement, improve reporting mechanisms and support the protection of fundamental rights in Nigeria.

According to him, the platform was designed to serve as a repository for reports of civic space violations, particularly those occurring within the electoral cycle.

“We cannot afford to keep putting things under the carpet. We need to begin to hold people accountable,” Idowu said.

He explained that the platform would provide citizens, civil society groups and other stakeholders with an avenue to document incidents and demand action from relevant authorities.

“I think this will also help in the coming elections, ensuring that civic space issues and human rights violations within the electoral cycle that have been trampled upon are adequately reported and properly followed up for accountability,” he said.

“Offenders—whether government institutions, individuals, or political actors—must be properly held accountable for their actions.”

The KDI boss expressed concern over incidents recorded during recent political party primaries, including alleged intimidation, violence and abuse of state institutions.

“We have seen the party primaries going on. We have seen how the rights of people have been violated, even as members, candidates and aspirants. We have seen gunshots,” he said.

“We have seen state institutions being used to intimidate people. But who is holding people accountable? Where can we even find it reported? Where can we even reference it?”

Idowu said the initiative was also intended to keep unresolved issues in the public domain until appropriate action is taken.

“We do not want a situation where something happens and then, in the next one or two weeks, another thing happens and the previous issue fades away,” he said.

“We want to keep it on the front burner so that everybody can go back and see that this happened and nothing has been done about it. If you look at many cases in Nigeria, after #EndSARS, what happened to the reports?”

In his goodwill message, Governance Adviser at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Mathew Ayibakubo, described the platform as a critical tool for strengthening democratic participation and responsive governance.

“At its core, this is about people. It is about the ability of people to engage, to assemble, to organise, and to make meaningful decisions,” Ayibakubo said.

“When people can speak openly, consistently and safely, it provides the foundation for accountable governance and responsive institutions.”

While commending KDI and its partners for the initiative, he stressed that the effectiveness of the platform would depend on how well it is utilised.

“There are many platforms that come online every year, but what truly matters is how effectively they are used. Therefore, the information generated through this important platform must be translated into action,” he said.

According to him, meaningful progress would only be achieved when public concerns are transformed into informed decisions and coordinated responses by relevant institutions.