Press freedom is a vital aspect of any democracy, and one of the key indicators of the health of a democratic system is the extent to which it allows its press to function independently and without fear of reprisal.
Unfortunately, Nigeria has struggled to maintain a free press, with journalists facing a range of challenges, including harassment, abduction, and even death.
Section 39 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees freedom of speech in Nigeria.
Despite this constitutional protection, the government in Nigeria has maintained control over the media for the majority of its history, and some still do.
Nigeria’s struggles with press freedom leave it behind many of its African peers.
For example, the World Press Freedom Index 2022, as seen on Statista, ranked Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Liberia, and South Africa higher because they have stronger legal frameworks that protect journalists’ rights to free expression.
Statistics Around the World
Globally, the state of press freedom is worsening. According to the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, as documented by the RFS Bilan 2022 report, “As of December 1, 2022, a total of 533 journalists were being held for doing their job, more than a quarter of whom were arrested in the course of the year.”
“RSF has never previously registered such a high number of imprisoned journalists.”
“This latest increase in the number of detained journalists (up 13.4% in 2022 after a 20% rise in 2021) confirms that authoritarian regimes are becoming more and more comfortable with jailing the journalists who bother them, in most cases without even putting them on trial.”
“Just over a third of the journalists who are detained have been convicted.” “The others (63.6%) are being detained without having been tried.”
“China, where censorship and surveillance have reached extreme levels, continues to be the world’s biggest jailer of journalists, with a total of 110 currently held.”
“In Myanmar, where journalism is now effectively prohibited, as seen by the many media outlets that were banned after the military coup in February 2021, the biggest journalists are currently detained.”
“In another sign of a major crackdown, the Islamic Republic of Iran, with 47 detained journalists, became the world’s third-biggest jailer of media personnel just one month after the outbreak of massive protests.”
“Two regions alone hold three-quarters of the world’s imprisoned journalists: nearly 45% in Asia and more than 30% in the Maghreb and the Middle East.” “Russia has also seen a major crackdown since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.”
“Almost all independent media outlets there were banned, blocked, and/or declared “foreign agents” in the course of the year.” Most of the journalists who stayed behind have been forced to work underground, as they could face as much as 15 years in prison for spreading “false information” about the Russian army.
“At least 18 journalists are currently imprisoned, including eight Ukrainian journalists who were arrested in Crimea, which was annexed in 2014 and is now subject to Russian law.
Back to Nigeria
Nigeria ranks 120 out of 180 countries, down from its 115th position in 2020. This report reveals that the country’s score was brought down by “excesses in the use of criminal law to restrict press freedom, violence against journalists, and impunity for such violations.”
In addition to physical violence, journalists in Nigeria often face legal harassment and intimidation.
A report by the Premium Times newspaper, one of Africa’s leading investigative newspapers, shows that “at least 14 journalists and media workers were detained, harassed, or attacked while covering Nigeria’s presidential and federal elections.”
The report detailed a series of attacks on journalists and media during the 2023 general elections.
“A group of men beat Dayo Aiyetan, executive director of the privately owned nonprofit International Centre for Investigative Reporting, tore his clothes, and stole his phone and belongings after he filmed them disrupting the poll at a polling site in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.”
“Aiyetan said one man tried to stab him, and he reported the attack to local police. Some of his belongings were returned, including his phone with deleted content.
“Youths in Ibadan, Oyo State, attacked a vehicle from the state-owned News Agency Nigeria for covering the elections,” one of the crew members told CPJ.
“Yinka Bode-Are, a camera operator, was traveling with a reporter and driver when the vehicle was set upon with sticks and dented.”
“Security forces questioned Adesola Ikulajolu, a reporter with the local nonprofit Center for Journalism Innovation and Development, about his work and deleted image folders from his phone as he moved between polling places in Lagos.”
“Ikulajolu said he believed they were from the Department of State Services because of their equipment and black clothing.” DSS spokesperson Peter Afunanya told CPJ he was not aware of the incident and that black clothing did not prove a DSS affiliation.
“In Agbor town, Delta State, a supporter of the Peoples Democratic Party, one of Nigeria’s main political parties, punched Bolanle Olabimtan, a reporter with the private news website TheCable, and knocked her over, while another seized her phone and deleted photos and videos before returning it.”
“Police detained and threatened to shoot Gbenga Oloniniran, a reporter with the privately owned Punch newspaper, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, then drove him across town and deleted photos from his phone before releasing him.” Local media advocacy groups condemned the incident. He told CPJ that police officers also deleted photos from his phone in a separate incident after he photographed them at a polling site. CPJ’s calls to Rivers State Police spokesperson Grace Woyengikuro Iringe-Koko went unanswered.
“A group of men stopped Ajayi Adebola, a reporter with the private news website Peoples Gazette, at a polling site in Lagos and deleted content from her phone. She told CPJ that some wore vests representing the All Progressives Congress, another major party. APC spokesperson Felix Morka told CPJ that he would investigate the incident and that the party did not want its supporters to target journalists.
“PDP supporters threatened or assaulted five reporters in three separate incidents in Sagbama, a council area in Bayelsa State: Akam James, a reporter with the privately-owned Daily Post newspaper, was slapped and beaten; Princewill Sede and Jeany Metta, publisher and managing editor of the private Upfront News magazine, were hit in the face and had their cameras smashed; and Joe Kunde and Miebi Bina, a reporter and camera operator for the private news broadcaster TVC, were intimidated and driven from the area.
The Press Attack Tracker, an initiative of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development to monitor violence incidences against journalists, reported that about 45 cases of harassment and infringements were confirmed in the first four months of 2023.
This infographic was culled from The Press Attack Tracker
According to this news report sighted on Premium Times, “geographically, the southwest had the most attacks with 17, or 37.8 percent.” “The north-central and south-south had the same number of attacks, 11 each, separately accounting for 24.4 percent.”
This infographic was culled from The Press Attack Tracker
“The North-East had three attacks, or 6.7 percent of the cases, followed by the North-West, which recorded two attacks, accounting for 4.4 percent. “The Southeast geopolitical region had the lowest statistic with only one case, accounting for 2.2 percent of the infringements tracked and verified.”
The Bottleneck
The Nigeria Press Council Law and the National Broadcasting Commission Act both give the government significant control over the media and restrict the freedom of journalists to report on sensitive topics.
Furthermore, the Cybercrime Act passed in 2015, has been used to arrest and detain journalists who are perceived to have violated the act through their work.
To achieve a truly free press in Nigeria, the government must take tangible steps to loosen its grip on the media. This includes repealing laws that restrict the freedom of journalists, bringing those who attack or intimidate journalists to justice, and providing an environment where journalists can practice their craft without fear of repercussions.
In conclusion, while press freedom remains a struggle for many countries, the situation in Nigeria is particularly dire. Within Africa, the country lags behind many of its peers when it comes to press freedom, putting its reputation as a democratic nation at risk.
The government must act now to protect journalists and ensure that they can report independently on important issues without fear of reprisal.
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