Follow Us on Google
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration, state governors, and the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesome Wike to guarantee press freedom, protect journalists, and halt escalating insecurity and human rights violations in northern Nigeria ahead of World Press Freedom Day.
In a joint statement issued Friday by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare and NGE General Secretary Onuoha Ukeh, the groups emphasised that “protecting journalists and safeguarding information integrity are central drivers of peace, security, and democratic stability.”
They warned that “the erosion of independent journalism and civic information ecosystems directly contributes to governance breakdown,” adding, “When journalism is weakened through intimidation, repression, or impunity for attacks against media professionals, corruption thrives, accountability declines, and misinformation expands. In such environments, information violence often precedes physical violence, further deepening insecurity and undermining public trust in state institutions.”
The statement spotlighted grave abuses in states including Benue, Plateau, Borno, Sokoto, and Kwara, noting serious concern over “the scale and persistence of killings, abductions, sexual violence, forced displacement, and destruction of property and the deepening governance and accountability crisis.”
It highlighted that “thousands of people have been unlawfully killed and millions displaced in several parts of northern Nigeria, alongside ongoing patterns of attacks on rural communities, abductions, and grave abuses against women and children.”
Citing Nigeria’s obligations under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the groups declared these violations reflect “systemic failures to prevent foreseeable harm, protect communities, identify and prosecute the perpetrators and their sponsors, and ensure access to justice and effective remedies.”
Other News
They aligned their call with the UNESCO 2026 World Press Freedom Day theme, “Shaping a Future of Peace,” stating it “underscores the centrality of a free, independent, and viable media ecosystem to peace, security, and sustainable development,” and that “protecting journalists and safeguarding information integrity are not peripheral concerns, but core drivers of peace and security.”
The organisations outlined 12 specific demands, including guaranteeing press freedom under Section 22 and 39 of the Constitution, protecting civic space, launching intelligence-led security measures, ensuring thorough investigations, prosecuting perpetrators, providing victim remedies, and improving transparency.
“Addressing insecurity in Nigeria requires more than reactive responses. It demands a sustained commitment to accountability, transparency, and human rights,” the statement asserted, calling for a public registry of incidents and respect for human rights by all agencies.
Further, they urged invitations to UN and African Commission Special Rapporteurs for fact-finding visits on “killings, abductions, sexual violence, torture, and enforced disappearances,” a National Assembly public hearing under Sections 88 and 89, and international pressure to end impunity.
“Nigerian authorities at all levels have binding constitutional and international human rights obligations to end the growing insecurity across the country and the impunity of perpetrators, which continue to fuel grave human rights violations and abuses,” the statement concluded.
