About Us

Advancing Digital Rights and Civic Freedoms

DigiCivic Initiative is a non-governmental organisation committed to protecting and advancing digital rights within Africa’s civic space. We believe that the freedoms guaranteed offline including privacy, freedom of expression, association, and assembly must be equally protected in the digital environment.

 

As technology continues to reshape governance, communication, and civic participation, digital platforms have become essential spaces for democratic engagement. However, these spaces are increasingly threatened by unlawful surveillance, misuse of cybercrime laws, online harassment, data exploitation, and restrictions on free expression.

DigiCivic Initiative exists to ensure that technology strengthens human rights rather than undermines them. Through legal advocacy, research, capacity building, and civic education, we work to safeguard digital freedoms and promote accountability within Africa’s digital ecosystem.

We envision a society where all citizens, particularly those from marginalized communities, actively participate in shaping a digital future that respects and protects their rights.

In this future, strong legal frameworks, accountable institutions, and informed citizens work together to uphold democracy, privacy, and freedom of expression in both physical and digital spaces.

Our mission is to raise awareness about digital rights while promoting and protecting the fundamental freedoms of expression, association, assembly, and privacy in the digital age.

We achieve this by providing legal support and pursuing strategic litigation on behalf of citizens, journalists, bloggers, and independent media facing digital rights violations.

These cases often involve issues such as data protection, cyber harassment, unlawful surveillance, digital asset regulation, and restrictions on online expression. 

Beyond legal action, DigiCivic Initiatives works to ensure that citizens can freely access information, engage in public discourse, organise collectively, and hold governments accountable in an increasingly digital society.

Civic Education & Public Awareness

We equip citizens, journalists, and communities with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate and protect their rights in digital spaces.

Strategic Litigation & Legal Accountability

 We challenge unlawful surveillance, misuse of cybercrime laws, and other digital rights violations through strategic litigation and legal representation.

Research & Evidence Based Advocacy

Our research examines emerging digital rights issues and provides evidence that supports policy reform and stronger digital governance.

Mojirayo Ogunlana

Executive Director

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Morisola Alaba-Akinlabi

Programs Coordinator

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Maxwell Ahunanyah​

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Officer

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Ifiokobong Uko

Programs Assistant

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Olalekan Oguntona

Finance Officer

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Join the Movement for Digital Rights

We invites experts, advocates, and journalists to partner with us in strengthening democratic freedoms. Join us in building a transparent, accountable digital future for all.

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Mojirayo Oluwatoyin Ogunlana is a digital rights expert on a mission to establish a legal framework at national and regional levels that safeguards a free and open internet while upholding human rights. She is a digital policy specialist and internet governance professional with over 8 years of experience in multistakeholder platforms. She is an expert in navigating issues related to AI governance, cybersecurity, digital inclusion, and data sovereignty and has a proven track record of participating in and organizing sessions within the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) ecosystem, advocating for an open, secure, and inclusive internet.


She also champions strategic litigation in courts to challenge constraints on freedom of expression, association and assembly. She coordinates advocacy campaigns to enforce these fundamental rights across West Africa, envisioning a thriving civic space for current and future generations in the region.
With over 14 years of legal practice, Mojirayo has committed the past 10 years to defending the rights of journalists and media organizations, primarily on a pro bono basis, before Nigerian courts and the West African regional ECOWAS Court. She is renowned for her pivotal role in prosecuting the landmark case of Amnesty International, Togo & 7 Others v. The Republic of Togo, addressing the internet shutdown; which earned the Judgment the 2022 Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression Prize for a Significant Legal Ruling.


Mojirayo is a legal practitioner based in Abuja, Nigeria. She is a member of the West Africa Network of Activists and Media Defence Lawyers (WANAMDEL), a network of activists seeking justice for abused human rights activists and journalists. She is a fellow of the Impact West Africa Fellowship program of the Aspen Global Innovators Institute and Niyel 2023-2024 cohort. She is a fellow of the Internet Society Nigeria, and serves as a co-chair of the Legal and Digital Rights Working Group.

Mojirayo is bilingual. She is an expert speaker in English and has an intermediate level command of the French language.

Morisola Alaba-Akinlabi is currently the Program Coordinator at Digicivic Initiative. A dedicated lawyer with extensive experience in research, litigation, legislative advocacy, and capacity-building initiatives. Her expertise spans human rights law, particularly on freedom of expression, access to information, media freedom, and digital rights.


Beyond litigation, Morisola is deeply engaged in digital rights advocacy and internet governance.She is a Digital Grassroots Ambassador and served as a trainer in the Digital Grassroots Ambassadors Program (Cohort 4).


She is also an alumna of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) and the immediate past Coordinator of the Nigeria Youth Internet Governance Forum (NYIGF).


Morisola obtained her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria and has undertaken specialized training in freedom of expression, access to information, internet governance and digital rights.

Ahunanyah Maxwell is an institutional and human capacity-building and program development specialist with over a decade of progressive experience designing, planning, implementing, and monitoring organizational development, system strengthening, governance, and policy advocacy interventions across sectors in Nigeria. He has worked on two capacity-building projects spanning six years with Palladium Group, an international consulting firm focused on diverse social impact work across 60 countries. He employs an industry- and context-specific approach to capacity building, tailored to enhance sectoral operations and resilience.

 

Maxwell has significant experience in performance management and in strengthening the internal efficiency of local organizations. He has supported the development of policy direction and reforms across sectors in several states in Nigeria. He demonstrates resourcefulness in providing technical leadership and capacity building for civil society, government agencies, and business membership organizations. He has invested in shaping program performance and results-based management through technical assistance in implementing policies, regulations, and donor guidelines in public health, agriculture, anti-corruption, and the education sector, and is currently working at Digicivic Initiatives, where he supports program monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning, which drives impact and informs the development of new initiatives in the intersection of digital literacy and rights in the health, business, education, and legal systems in Nigeria.

 

Maxwell has experience supporting the design of qualitative research materials, conceptualizing new learning pathways, and eliciting insightful feedback for decision-making. He has developed conflict management, grievance redress, and risk analysis and mitigation plans and mechanisms for sustained change management. He has supported strategy development to address changing contexts in insecure locations, using political economy analysis to drive engagements.

Maxwell has an MPH and a BMLS. He is a fellow of the Nigerian School on Internet Governance and a member of the Internet Society of Nigeria Chapter. He has contributed to the development of several learning curricula for institutions in Nigeria.

Ifiokobong Uko is a Nigerian lawyer (LL.B, BL) with expertise in digital rights, data protection, and technology policy.


He works with DigiCivic Initiative to advance advocacy on online safety, privacy, and civic technology, supporting program design, stakeholder engagement, and policy-driven interventions. His experience spans regulatory compliance, legal research, and digital governance, with a strong focus on aligning organizational practices with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023.


He has contributed to policy dialogues, compliance frameworks, and public interest initiatives aimed at promoting accountability and protecting fundamental rights in digital spaces across Nigeria and the broader Global South.

Olalekan Daniel Oguntona AAT, ACA is a chartered accountant and a finance enthusiast.

He holds a bachelor degree in Economics from the Redeemers University and is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and also a member of the Association of Accountancy Bodies in West Africa (ABWA).


He has over 8 years cognate experience across the private sector and Non-Governmental Organizations in the area of Finance and Management.