Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Global Rights, an international human rights and governance capacity-building non-governmental organisation, yesterday condemned what it termed the recent spate of attacks on members of the press by law enforcement and security agents.
In a statement in Abuja, the group stated that it considers it pertinent to sound the alarm on the incidents while informing the powers that be that human rights actors and civic space defenders are taking stock of President Tinubu’s administration’s approach to protecting media rights.
It recalled that one such attacks took place on the of March 15, 2024, when Mr. Segun Olatunji, an editor with the FirstNews Newspaper, was unlawfully taken from his home in Lagos by a mob of 10 officers of the Nigerian military.
The statement signed by its Executive Director, Abiodun Baiyewu, said Olatunji was not informed of the reason for his arrest prior to his abduction.
It added that he was eventually released after a sustained media campaign spanning nearly two weeks without being charged with any crime.
“Mr. Olatunji, in narrating his ordeal, affirmed that he was handcuffed and leg chained for three days. The only window he was offered into why he was arrested and subsequently tortured was when he was asked about a critical story his newspaper had published about the unprofessional manner in which the Defence Chief was running his agency.
“Another egregious encounter that further symbolises the posture of the administration on the press is the consistent harassment of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
“The FIJ is a reputable media organisation, well known for publishing an exposé on government corruption and bad governance. Last week, Ms. Bukky Shonibare, its Board of Trustees Chair, was invited by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) ostensibly to “answer questions about cybercrime” and clarify matters about a case the police was investigating.
“Ms. Shonibare honoured the police’s invitation, accompanied by her lawyer. At the police station, she was consistently grilled about the kinds of stories the FIJ publishes. In one of many displays of a lack of understanding of journalistic ethics and the role of the media, the police asked why stories were not first cleared with law enforcement before being published,” the group added.
Global rights argued that the actions were most unbecoming in a country that claims to practice democracy.
The arrest, detention, intimidation, and harassment of journalists simply on the grounds that they publish stories that run counter to the narratives of the government, it said, is unabashedly undemocratic.
Worse still, it maintained that it is also unconstitutional since Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria unambiguously charges the press with the responsibility of holding the government accountable to the people.
The drafters of the Constitution, it said appreciated the fact that Nigeria’s hard-earned democracy could be undermined if the press was stifled by autocratic civilian rulers.
“These fears are understandable and are anchored on the knowledge that Nigeria’s history is replete with instances in which powerful individuals in government had gone to great lengths to silence members of the press who have criticized them,” it explained.
Consequently, Global Rights demanded a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Segun Olatunji’s ordeal while officers indicted in his arbitrary arrest and torture should be dismissed and made to account for their abuse of power.
It also demanded an official apology from the Nigerian military’s top brass to Olatunji, while the military must also take steps to compensate him for the ordeal he unlawfully suffered at the hands of its personnel.
It called for an immediate cessation of the campaign of harassment and intimidation by the Nigerian Police Force targeting the FIJ and Mr. Fisayo Shoyombo.
It further demanded the immediate release of all journalists and members of the press who are being unlawfully detained by Nigerian law enforcement and security agencies.
