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While previous studies have assessed the linkages between the implementation of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown and human rights issues in non-African contexts, how the state containment of COVID-19 pandemic affected human rights in African context has been understudied, particularly in Nigeria. Using a qualitative-dominant mixed methods approach, this study assessed how state containment of COVID-19 pandemic affected human rights in Nigeria. It demonstrated that the state's security operatives repressed the citizens during the implementation of COVID-19-induced full and partial lockdown in Nigeria. Despite the prospects of COVID-19 lockdown in mitigating the spread of the virus, state repression of citizens has implications for shrinking the civic spaces and engendering human rights violations. The study concluded that judicial reform and promotion of rights-based education among security operatives involved in the implementation of COVID-19 lockdown present opportunities for regulating the excesses of the state officials during public health emergencies, preserving human rights as well as advancing democracy and development in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethno-regional coalition during electioneering has become an intrinsic historical relic of political mobilisations in Nigeria. However, the 2015 presidential election had the added feature of being highly tainted with hate campaigns and mudslinging as Nigeria witnessed, more than ever, the mobilisation of voters along ethno-religious and geo-political lines. These primordial concerns shaped the pre-election period, the post-election rivalry, and mistrust between in-groups and out-groups, as well as the exclusionary political appointments of President Muhammadu Buhari's regime. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other discussion forums were exploited for the propagation of hate-laden contents. As a consequence and contrary to the emphasis of Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution and Goal #10.2 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on political inclusion, post-election appointments have been sectional and divisive. This has greatly impaired the quest for national integration under President Buhari's regime. Hence, this article investigates the role of hate campaigns, especially through the manipulation of social media, in weakening post-election national integration and state-building in Nigeria. The data generated from documentary evidence were analysed thematically. The study concludes that the deliberate reduction of post-election exclusionary tendencies through the democratisation of politics is the panacea for national integration in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]