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Amnesty International Nigeria has described the alleged invasion of JKD TV/Hamada Radio Network in Millennium City, Kaduna, by heavily armed police officers as an attack on press freedom.
The human rights organisation strongly condemned the invasion, which reportedly occurred on Friday, in a statement shared on Facebook.
Amnesty said the raid resulted in the arrest of the station’s General Manager, Charles Abah, and a security guard.
According to Amnesty and the station’s management, the police said they had instructions to arrest a staff member, Zainab Salihu Yabagi, over a video explainer produced by JKD Radio & Television concerning Ibrahim Kabir Masari, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Political Affairs. The station said the explainer was presented by Yabagi.
The management of JKD TV/Hamada Radio said in a public announcement on Friday that the two men were being detained at the Kaduna State Police Command.
Daily Sun gathered that the state command had earlier declared Yabagi wanted in connection with the video.
The rights group described the raid as part of a wider pattern of pressure against independent media in Nigeria.
“Amnesty International strongly condemns the unlawful and outrageous invasion of JKD TV Hamada Radio Network Millennium City Kaduna by a contingent of heavily armed police,” the organisation said.
It added that “attacking JKD Radio/Television is part of a wider pattern of attempts to create climate of fear across newsrooms in Nigeria and to make it harder for journalists to do their job”.
Amnesty further stated that “targeting independent media is solely aimed at depriving the people of the opportunity to receive fair and objective reporting of issues affecting their lives”.
“No government official — no matter his status — is above scrutiny and criticism in the interest of the public. An attack on the media is an attack on freedom,” the group said.
Amnesty called on Nigerian authorities to respect freedom of expression and media freedom, and to ensure journalists are not subjected to reprisals for reporting on matters of public interest.
It also asked for the immediate release of those detained.
