Under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, press freedom has shrunk, plummeting the country’s rank to 115 out of 180 nations on the planet Press Freedom Index.
Police in Nigeria assault, arrest journalists covering #RevolutionNow protests CPJ
In the first six months of 2019 alone, the amount of attacks on journalists was 189 consisting equipment searches and seizures, nine; equipment or property damage, 17; arrests, 60; denial of access, 21; threats, 44 and ‘harassments’, 12. of those attacks, 322 were on media houses, while the remaining 30 were meted on individuals. Also, 95 per cent of journalists affected were males while the remainder were females, research from the Premium Times Center for Investigative Journalism Press Attack Tracker shows.
In that time, 114 of such attacks were administered by uniformed personnel (military, police, SSS, SARS, NSCDC, prison officials and therefore the EFCC. Other aggressors were union members (3), criminals, thugs etc (56), private security outfits (18), terrorists (9), unknown (33) et al. (68).
The attacks spilled over to 2020 and NaijaGistReporter has compiled an inventory of the violations.
Nashan Maxwell (FRCN)
Maxwell Nashan, a reporter with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, was murdered early in January by unidentified individuals allegedly for his journalism.
He was found bound and gagged a brief distance from his office in Badarisa, Adamawa State, by some farmers. He died later that day within the hospital.
Suleiman Nguroje, Police PR Officer in Adamawa, told the Committee to guard Journalists at the time that once they retrieved the journalist’s telephone , they found a message from Nashan saying that his life had been threatened. The journalist's killers were never found and therefore the police are yet to form any of its findings public.
Alex Ogbu (Regent Africa Times)
Alex Ogbu, a Nigerian journalist working with Regent Africa Times, was shot within the head by men of the Nigeria police in Abuja while he was reporting a protest organised by members of Islamic Movement in Nigeria.
The police, however, tried to hide up the explanation for his death, misinforming his family and therefore the Nigerian public that he slipped and fell, hitting his head on hard floor. The police also took his phone from his wife and refused to return it to her within the cover-up attempt.
A few days later, however, SaharaReporters exclusively obtained autopsy documents from a government-approved hospital that shows he died from gunshot wounds fired by the Nigeria police .
Gidado Yushau (News Digest) and Alfred Olufemi (Freelance)
Gidado Yushau, Publisher of stories Digest and Alfred Olufemi, a contract journalist, were charged to court in March 2020 for allegedly reporting that employees at a rice processing facility operated by the corporate in Kwara State were permitted to smoke cannabis at add violation of Nigerian law. The owner of the corporate Hillcrest Agro-Allied Industries was appointed Special Adviser on Finance and Economy to Buhari in November 2019 consistent with a PUNCH report.
Another journalist, Adebowale Adekoya, an internet developer, who had worked for News Digest within the past, was arrested by the Nigeria Police, spending a complete of six days in arbitrary detention. He was also threatened in reference to the story which he was repeatedly asked to delete by Hillcrest Agro-Allied Industries.
He was lured by the Nigeria Police after they obtained two of his colleagues' contact from his network provider. The police approached his colleagues at work posing because the DHL delivery company before instructing one among them to line up a gathering with him.
If convicted in court, the duo faces up to 3 years in prison.
Fejiro Oliver (Secret Reporters)
Fejiro Oliver, Publisher of Secret Reporters, was grilled by Nigeria’s police , the Department of State Services 3 times in reference to one among his reports. He was eventually charged to court in May 2020 after years of adjournments designed to stall the proceedings of his trial.
Oliver was first arrested in 2017 in Uyo, Awa Ibom State and was detained for 3 days. He was arraigned and subsequently detained again for one month thanks to his inability to fulfil his stringent bail conditions.
His report details alleged corruption in Sterling Bank and he's charged with five counts of violating the 2015 cybercrime act.
Samuel Ogundipe and Musikilu Mojeed (Premium Times)
In February, Premium Times reporter, Samuel Ogundipe, went into hiding after he received threats via call and his email hacked as a part of attempts to intimidate him over reports done by the paper he worked for.
Musikilu Mojeed, Editor-in-Chief of PT, also faced intimidation after the platform exclusively published a government document, which revealed the strained relationship between Nigeria’s top security chiefs. Men suspected to agents of the country’s police visited Mojeed’s range in a bid to arrest him.
COVID-19 crackdown
Despite an announcement designating journalists as essential service providers during the COVID-19 lockdown that began late in March in Nigeria, cops in Lagos and other parts of the country constantly harassed journalists, detaining them overnight and subjecting them to community service for staying out late to report on the pandemic. Pleas from journalists to the govt to clarify the designation of journalists as essential service fell on deaf ears and therefore the harassment continued until the lockdown was eased.
AIT expelled
Journalists working with the Africa Independent Television in Abuja were on Saint Joseph chased out from an occasion where President Buhari was expected to offer a speech.
The order to go away “came from above” consistent with the CPJ albeit the AIT journalists were duly accredited to hide the event, which was the revealing of the country’s broadband agenda.
Social Media Bill
A controversial bill, Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill 2019, that seeks to repress free speech was being deliberated upon within the Nigerian Senate after it had been sponsored by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa.
The bill seeks to punish social media posts deemed false by the govt with imprisonment of up to 3 years and a fine to N300,000 ($844) or both. Offenders, who aren't individuals, face fines up to N10m ($27,247).
The bill although widely criticised with the hashtag #SayNoToSocialMediaBill remains up for consideration within the Senate.
Peter Okutu and Chijoke Agwu (Vanguard & The Sun)
The Ebonyi government in April ordered the arrest of a journalist reporting for The SUN, Chijoke Agwu, detaining him for quite nine hours.
Agwu had gone to the government house to report the governors briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic. Dave Umahi, governor of the state, before the news conference commenced, questioned Agwu over a story he had written on the prevalence of Lassa fever within the state. He was driven to the state police command but was released for free of charge after public outrage.
Similarly, another journalist, Okutu, was arrested on April 21 and was threatened with a ban for all times by Governor Umahi. He was also released after public outrage.
Saint Mienpamo Onitsha (Naija Live TV)
Officers of the Department of State Services in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, in May broke into the house of Saint Mienpamo Onitsha, blindfolded him and drove him to their headquarters within the dead of the night.
The DSS interrogated him about the sources of two of his stories which were published on Naira TV Live. They threatened him with prosecution on false news charges. the key police presented him before a news conference a couple of days later where he was coerced to apologise and deny allegations that he was abducted in exchange for his release for free of charge .
Five phones belonging to him and his wife were also confiscated during the raid and detention.
Kufre Carter
Kufre Carter was arrested by the Department of State Services in April in Uyo when he honoured a call for participation by the agency.
Carter’s arrest was ordered by the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Health, Dominic Ukpong, after an audio allegedly by Carter seemed to criticise his response to the COVID-19 pandemic within the state. The journalist was detained even after fulfilling his bail conditions but was eventually released after national outrage.
Cletus Opukeme
In May, Cletus Opukeme, Publisher of Daily Watch went into hiding after the Police raided the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ office in Warri, Delta State, detaining his colleague, Mathew Omonigho, to invite his whereabouts.
On learning of Omonigho’s arrest, four other journalists, who visited inquire about things , were also arrested and questioned about Opukeme’s location.
Opukeme remains doggo and believes his targeted harassment wasn't unconnected to a report he did on allegations of corruption against Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio. CPJ reports that Akpabio’s aide, Anietie Ekong, sent threatening messages to the journalist about his reporting, accusing him of writing false reports and saying he would “deal with him.”
Ike-Jacobs Nwosu (Eastern Lead Express)
In June, lawmaker, Uche Ogbuagu, approved journalist Ike-Jacobs Nwosu and accused him of allegedly misquoting him albeit he didn't write the report.
The report which alleged underperformance by another lawmaker was allegedly written by another reporter with Eastern Lead Express.
Nwosu was then attacked and beaten by four men chipping his tooth and breaking his glasses within the process.
Sikiru Obarayese (Daily Post)
Sikiru Obarayese was brutalised by police in August while reporting the compliance to COVID-19 restrictions in Old Garage, Osun State.
He said he was attacked by the enforcement officers after he photographed them beating unarmed civilians for failing to wear face masks.
RevolutionNow Four (Premium Times, Sahara Reporters, ObjecTv, Galaxy TV)
On Sepetmebr 11, police in Lagos arrested four journalists for covering a peaceful protest in Ojulegba.
The journalists, Ifeoluwa Adediran (Premium Times) Abiodun Adeoba (Sahara Reporters), Daniel Tanimu (Galaxy TV ) and Awoniyi Oluwatosin of ObjecTV all identified themselves but were arrested regardless and detained at the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja. They were eventually released.
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