Muhammed Bello Buhari
NAFASI Project Officer, Magamba Network
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Muhammed Bello Buhari is a digital rights practitioner and programme specialist working at the intersection of human rights, technology, and civic space across Africa. With a specialized focus on internet shutdowns, surveillance encirclement, and digital democracy in politically fragile and conflict-affected environments, he regularly provides legal and policy commentary on tech accountability and human rights. He holds an LL.B. from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Currently, Muhammed serves as the NAFASI Project Officer at Magamba Network, coordinating a multi-country digital democracy initiative across Sub-Saharan Africa. He previously served as Programmes Officer and Regional Lead for Anglophone West Africa at Paradigm Initiative (PIN), spearheading regional advocacy, strategic litigation support, and digital rights capacity building. Prior to PIN, he had programme coordinationation roles with CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Digital Grassroots, and Call A Lawyer Nigeria.
Muhammed is an alumnus of executive programs at the Lagos Business School and the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. His work has been recognized through numerous international fellowships, including the 2025 Internet Society (ISOC) Youth Ambassador program, the TechForward Policy Fellowship, Community Privacy Residency Taiwan, the IRI Fortifying Internet Freedom Fellowship, the Advocacy Assembly Internet Shutdowns Advocacy Fellowship, and the Innocent Chukwuma Social Impact Fellowship.
Area of Expertise
Topics
Protecting People, Not Just Systems: From Cyber-Control to Online Safety in Sierra Leone
Across West Africa, the rapid enactment of cybercrime legislation has often prioritized state security over individual human rights. Anchored by a newly published Paradigm Initiative policy brief, this session uses Sierra Leone’s Cybersecurity and Crime Act of 2021 as a critical case study to examine this regional trend.
While the Act establishes frameworks for digital infrastructure, its reliance on highly subjective and vague terminology—such as criminalizing "annoyance" or "insulting" behavior online—has created loopholes that are increasingly weaponized against civic actors, journalists, and everyday citizens. Furthermore, the current framework critically fails to protect vulnerable groups from severe online harms, notably online gender-based violence (GBV).
Drawing directly from the findings and recommendations of the published brief, this session will convene civil society actors, legal experts, and policymakers to advocate for a paradigm shift. Discussions will focus on moving away from ambiguous cyber-control mechanisms toward a comprehensive "Online Safety Act," identifying specific legal amendments, and establishing frameworks that genuinely protect human beings in the digital civic space without stifling freedom of expression.
LondaPulse
Londa is a flagship research by Paradigm Initiative focused on mapping the state of digital rights across Africa. It documents emerging trends, national landscapes, policy gaps, and grassroots experiences shaping the digital ecosystem on the continent. Informed by diverse voices and localised realities, Londa serves as a critical tool for advocacy, policymaking, and movement-building.
To bring the findings and energy of Londa to wider audiences, we launched LondaPulse, a dissemination and engagement campaign that amplifies the report’s insights in creative, participatory formats. Through curated conversations, art, and storytelling, LondaPulse translates data into action, policy into people, and research into resonance.
The Event:
As part of the West Africa Internet Governance Forum (WAIGF) 2025, we will host a semi-formal side event under the LondaPulse banner. This event blends the relaxed atmosphere of a cocktail gathering with the insight of a panel discussion, offering a refreshing take on traditional side events.
The goal is simple: to connect, reflect, and pulse-check where Africa stands on key digital rights issues — in the presence of policymakers, advocates, and thought leaders.
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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