Muhammed Bello Buhari
Programmes Officer – Anglophone West Africa, Paradigm Initiative
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Muhammed Bello Buhari is a digital rights practitioner and programme specialist working at the intersection of law, technology, and civic space, with a specific focus on internet shutdowns, digital infrastructure, and digital democracy in conflict-affected and politically fragile contexts.
Currently, he serves as the Programmes Officer (Anglophone West Africa) at Paradigm Initiative (PIN), where he leads strategic advocacy, digital rights and inclusion programs, and policy interventions in the region. His experience spans programme coordination, donor-funded project management, and high-level partner engagement. He has a track record of managing EU- and foundation-funded initiatives across multi-country settings, ensuring strict compliance and impact. Prior to PIN, Muhammed Bello held roles at CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation (Digital Democracy Initiative), Digital Grassroots, and Call A Lawyer Nigeria, where he coordinated advocacy campaigns, led research, and managed sub-grant processes.
Muhammed Bello is particularly interested in how state power, insecurity, and digital infrastructure intersect to shape access to rights. His work has been supported through competitive fellowships and residencies, including the TechForward Policy Fellowship (African Centre for Digital Transformation), the International Republican Institute’s Fortifying Internet Freedom & Digital Security Fellowship, the Advocacy Assembly Internet Shutdown Advocacy Fellowship, the Innocent Chukwuma Social Impact Fellowship at Lagos Business School, and the Internet Society Youth Ambassador Programme.
Area of Expertise
Topics
Starlink, Smuggling, and Survival: Lessons from Iran for West Africa’s Civic Space
As authoritarian regimes refine digital repression tactics—from drone surveillance to total blackouts—civil society’s survival depends on adaptation. Iran’s recent protests offered a masterclass in digital resistance: activists smuggled Starlink terminals, bypassed GPS jamming, and maintained connectivity despite a total warfare approach by the state.
Meanwhile, West Africa faces its own crisis. Counter-terrorism operations in Nigeria’s North-West and North-East have normalized prolonged shutdowns, while military juntas in the Sahel threaten total information blackouts.
This session bridges the gap between the Middle East and West Africa. We will explore if the "smuggling and satellite" model of resistance is replicable in West Africa. Crucially, we will interrogate the "Digital Oligarch" dilemma: As we turn to private actors like Elon Musk for salvation from state censorship, are we simply trading government tyranny for corporate caprice?
Join us to discuss how to redefine digital security not just as privacy, but as the fundamental right to access connectivity in conflict zones.
From Mandate to Impact: Investing in Africa’s Human Rights Institutions for Digital Justice
Digital technologies are rapidly reshaping how rights are exercised, violated, and protected across Africa. Yet while funding for civil society digital rights work is growing, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) the constitutionally mandated bodies for protection, investigation, and remedy remain significantly underfunded in this space by governments. This gap threatens access to justice for vulnerable and marginalized communities, especially women, children, persons with disabilities, and digitally excluded populations.
This fireside chat is convened by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) of Ghana, a Category A NHRI to open a candid, solutions-focused dialogue with funders committed to human rights, inclusion, and digital justice. The conversation will spotlight how CHRAJ is intentionally refocusing its mandate, skills, and institutional systems to address digital rights as a fundamental human rights issue, while inviting partners to invest in this transition.
Why This Session:
• Digital rights violations are increasingly affecting the most vulnerable, but institutions lack capacity
• NHRIs provide state-anchored, sustainable accountability, unlike project-based interventions
• Investing in NHRIs strengthens long-term systems, not just short-term projects
Output:
• Increased visibility of CHRAJ as an essential digital rights actor
• Commitments to support digital rights capacity building within Ghana’s NHRI.
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