Theoretical Examination of Digital Constitutionalism and the Future of Rights in Nigeria: Artificial Intelligence, Surveillance, and Constitutional Adaptation

Digital constitutionalism, defined as the application of constitutional rights norms to digital technologies and their governance, is an emerging theoretical field with significant implications for the future of rights protection in Nigeria as artificial intelligence, facial recognition surveillance, and algorithmic governance systems become embedded in public administration. The 1999 Constitution was designed without contemplation of the digital state, leaving significant constitutional gaps in the regulation of algorithmic discrimination, mass digital surveillance, and AI-assisted criminal justice. This study develops an original theory of digital constitutionalism for Nigeria, examining how existing constitutional rights provisions should be adapted to govern AI-enabled governance, digital surveillance, and algorithmic decision-making in public administration. The methodology combines a doctrinal gap analysis of the 1999 Constitution against emerging digital governance challenges with comparative constitutional analysis from the European Union's AI Act constitutional framework, the German Federal Constitutional Court's decisions on digital surveillance, and Kenya's emerging digital rights jurisprudence. Human Dignity Theory, Algorithmic Accountability Theory, and the Digital Rights Constitutional Framework of the Internet Governance Forum provide the theoretical foundations. The study's original contribution is a Digital Constitutionalism Framework for Nigeria specifying the constitutional adaptations required to protect fundamental rights in the digital state. Findings generate proposals for a Digital Rights Constitutional Amendment and an AI Governance Act for Nigeria. Keywords: digital constitutionalism, artificial intelligence, surveillance, constitutional rights, Nigeria.