Abstract
Despite extensive literature on illiberal democracy and civil disobedience, research
has largely overlooked the rise of civic protests in Nigeria between 2020 and 2025. This
paper directly argues that the resurgence of civic protests in Nigeria is primarily a
response to the distinctive features of illiberal democratic governance, which have
driven citizens to reclaim democratic space through civil disobedience. Using John
Rawls's (1999) theory as its analytical lens, an ex post facto research design, and
mixed-methods, the study analyzes survey and documentary data using central
tendency and content analysis. The findings show that movements such as #EndSARS
and #EndBadGovernance reflect diminished public trust in state institutions and
represent a shift from earlier forms of resistance toward protests motivated by concrete
experiences of deprivation and marginalization. The paper concludes that the very
dynamics of illiberal democracy in Nigeria have been crucial in triggering and shaping
this renewed wave of civil disobedience.