According to Media Rights Agenda’s (MRA) annual report, Nigerian security forces, including the police, military, and intelligence services, have been identified as the primary perpetrators of attacks against journalists in 2024.
According to the report, the number of attacks by security forces has risen dramatically over the past three years. In 2022, security agencies were responsible for 29 attacks (45% of the total), increasing to 34 attacks (44%) in 2023, and reaching a staggering 45 attacks (65%) in 2024.
John Gbadamosi, MRA Programme Officer, emphasized the urgent need to address this culture of impunity and end the harassment and intimidation of journalists in a statement made on Tuesday by Idowu Adewale, MRA Communications Officer.
Gbadamosi highlighted the alarming trend of security agencies, including the police, military, and intelligence services, perpetrating increasingly severe attacks on journalists. This impunity has created a climate of fear, undermining press freedom and hindering the media’s ability to fulfill its crucial role in holding those in power accountable.
The MRA report calls for accountability and justice to ensure the protection of journalists and the preservation of a free and independent media in Nigeria. The statement urges authorities to investigate these incidents thoroughly and take action against those responsible, in order to restore trust in the institutions tasked with safeguarding the rule of law and the rights of citizens.
“It is ironic that the institutions tasked with upholding the rule of law as well as ensuring the safety and security of citizens, including journalists, have instead become the instruments of oppression against the media. It is worse still that the pervasive culture of impunity which has ensured a lack of accountability for past attacks has now emboldened these perpetrators to the extent that we are now seeing them at their most horrendous.”, Gbadamosi said.
Mr. Gbadamosi identified a positive development in the course of the year, observing that “In recent years, crippling fines imposed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on broadcast stations for alleged violations of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code has been a recurring feature in the threat landscape. But 2024 recorded zero fines imposed on broadcast stations by the NBC, apparently as a result of court judgments secured by MRA in May 2023 and January 2024 forbidding the NBC from further imposing such fines on broadcasters. We commend the NBC for complying with the courts’ orders.
“Despite these significant positive developments in the course of the year, the threat environment for journalism and media practice in Nigeria remains extremely concerning and it is imperative that urgent measures are taken to protect journalists and hold perpetrators of attacks against them accountable. Such measures should include strengthening Nigeria’s legal framework to better protect journalists and ensure that all attacks against journalists are speedily investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted and punished.”
According to Mr. Gbadamosi, without meaningful action to safeguard media freedom in Africa’s largest democracy, the cycle of violence and other forms of attacks against journalists as well as impunity for such attacks will persist, further undermining Nigeria’s democracy and the public’s right to know.
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