Recent reports about the state of media freedom in Nigeria give cause for concern. Nigeria is no more under military dictatorship. It has laws that take care of any unprofessional misconduct by the media. It is reprehensible, therefore, that we should be talking about repression of the media in this day and age and under a democratic dispensation.
In a recent joint statement to mark the International Human Rights Day, the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), called on the Bola Tinubu administration to immediately and unconditionally release all journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and activists currently in detention for the peaceful exercise of their human rights and doing their legitimate work. The groups expressed concern about what they called the escalating crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and media freedom and the flagrant disregard for the rule of law by the Nigerian authorities.
Press attacks between the first and third quarter of 2024 reportedly surpassed that of the entire year in 2023. The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development Press Attack Tracker noted that the year 2024 witnessed 110 verified attacks.
“We call on the Nigerian authorities to stop weaponizing criminal defamation and cybercrime laws to target and attack journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and activists and stop detaining and imprisoning them solely for doing their jobs,” SERAP and the NGE partly stated.
In a similar report, made available to the press recently, a group known as the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) noted that law enforcement and security agencies, including the police, military, and intelligence services were responsible for the highest number of attacks against journalists in 2024. In its annual state of media freedom report for the year, the MRA stated that out of a total of 64 attacks against journalists recorded in 2022, security agencies were responsible for 29 of them, representing about 45 per cent of the attacks. In 2023, security agencies, according to the group, were responsible for 34 out of the 77 (44 per cent) attacks against journalists. The situation got worse in 2024 as security agencies were reportedly responsible for 45 out of 69 attacks against journalists recorded between January 1 and October 31, 2024. This represents about 65 per cent. Other perpetrators of attacks against journalists are other government officials, the courts, thugs, and unknown gunmen, among others.
In the first 10 months of 2024, according to the MRA, these attacks involved 21 cases of assault and battery against journalists; 17 cases of arbitrary arrests and detention; three cases of raids on homes/offices of journalists; eight cases of threat to life; two cases of harassment; six cases of abductions/kidnapping; five instances of obstructing journalists from doing their jobs; one incident of a journalist killed and six cases of other forms of attacks.
Among the latest victims of abduction and detention were the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Globalupfront Newspaper, Mr. Madu Onuorah; the erstwhile editor of FirstNews online, Mr. Segun Olatunji; and a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Mr. Daniel Ojukwu. In carrying out these attacks, the police usually act under the guise of enforcing Cybersecurity Act.
It is unfortunate that media repression has become the pastime of successive Nigerian governments. International Press Centre (IPC) noted that a total of about 150 press freedom violations and attacks against journalists reportedly occurred in Nigeria between 2016 and 2020. In 2020, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) imposed a N5 million fine on a Lagos-based radio station, Nigeria Info 99.3FM, over a live interview with the late former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia. The NBC had similarly sanctioned such stations as DAAR Communications Plc, Channels Television and some others over some alleged offensive broadcast.
This is partly why Nigeria has earned a bad reputation as one of the most dangerous places for journalists to practise in Africa. We implore the Nigerian government to do everything possible to stop media repression in the country. The National Assembly should review and amend obnoxious laws like the criminal defamation laws, Cybercrime Act and Criminal Code Act to conform with Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
We must all strive to respect Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which empowers the media to hold the government accountable. We must also respect Section 39 (1) of the constitution and different international conventions which protect the rights of journalists and freedom of expression in Nigeria.
Aggrieved individuals or groups should learn to seek redress against any journalist or media organization through the National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC) also known as the National Ombudsman. Resorting to attacks against journalists amounts to taking laws into one’s hands. It is against the rule of law and must stop.