Nigeria And Safety Of Journalists

Group photograph of General Manager and Management team of Radio Rivers with Chairman and Exco of NUJ Rivers State Council at the end of courtesy visit recently. Photo: Chris Monyanaga

Communication has,
unarguably, played a very prominent role in human life. All the great organizational, scientific and technological successes of human being would not have been possible without communication. The world has gained tremendous knowledge and understanding through communication.
From the early times in the history, man had discovered the essence of dialogue at the interpersonal level either  within communities or cultures. Experience has taught us that communication when freely expressed and received is beneficial to man and his collective survival.
It is for this reason that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion, information and expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinion without interference and to seek, to receive and impact information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.
This declaration has become binding on Nigeria since the country became the 99th member of the United Nations Organisation (UNO). This means Nigeria has taken up an obligation to do its utmost towards the realisation of the principles enunciated in the declaration.
It is a well known fact that journalists are at the centre of information dissemination. But the danger faced by journalists, the nature of the violations of their rights, the institutions and persons responsible for such violations and the actions taken or not taken to promote the safety of journalists have been sources of serious concern in Nigeria.
Many journalists have in the past suffered in the hands of security agents during the performance of their legitimate duties. Findings show a lot of documented violations of the rights of journalists through assault, abduction, killing and destruction of their working equipment.
For instance, between November and December, 2014, at separate locations, 17 journalists were attacked, out of whom three females were kidnapped by militants in Delta State, while one journalist was abducted by gunmen in Abia State, while another and his crew members were assaulted in Kwara State. The Police were allegedly responsible for most of the attacks that occurred in December, 2014, out of which four took place in Taraba State.
Journalists working in conflict zones and politically volatile areas  have continued to be vulnerable to attacks and in most cases there was no conclusive investigation and apprehension of those responsible for those attacks, including abductions.
An Ogoni-born female journalist was abducted late last year, while another one was manhandled by security agents at Okrika during the 2015 general elections in Rivers State. Just recently, also in the state, journalists who went to cover a peaceful protest by students of University of Port Harcourt over school fees hike by the school authorities, were allegedly assaulted and their working equipment destroyed by the Police. But the State Police Command denied the act. All these are just a few examples of attacks against journalists in parts of the country.
Given the various acts of hostility against journalists in Nigeria, a survey was conducted on the safety of journalists in the country between November 2014 and December 2015. It was part of the International Press Centre’s (IPC) project on safety of journalists and emerging issues on conflict in Nigeria. The project was supported by the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO).
According to IPC Director, Lanre Arogundade, the immediate objective of the project was to conduct an assessment that provides baseline information on safety of journalists in Nigeria, especially in the context of UNESCO Journalists Safety Indicator at the national level so as to facilitate an intervention plan by UNESCO, its partners and other interested stakeholders.
The concept of freedom of expression rests upon the principle that it is an inalienable right and the foundation of a democratic society. Without freedom of expression, government are likely to act with impunity. The culture of secrecy breeds more secrecy and a government which can not be held accountable to the people will surely violate peoples’ fundamental human rights.
Journalists and media organisations in Nigeria have for long faced harrowing ordeals and have been operating in difficult environment. The harassment and arrest of journalists by government agents has continued to thrive while self-sensorship among government media has become prevalent for fear of being harassed, rebuked or even closed down.
In Nigeria, newspapers and magazines including the electronic media operate in fear. In 2014, security men seized copies of some national dailies for no just cause under the guise of security search. Some vendors were equally incarcerated for displaying on the newsstands copies of such publications.
Violation of press freedom and freedom of expression was more noticeable in this country during the military regime with so many journalists detained and tortured.
In 1994, security agents in Ilorin, Kwara State, disrupted the launching of a distress fund for journalists whose media houses were proscribed by the military junta. Both journalists and other guests who had gathered for the event were chased away.
In the case of the recent attack on journalists at UNIPORT in which the Police however tendered an apology to the Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Police should be made to pay for any damage done to the journalists to serve as a deterrent.
It has become pertinent for the Federal Government to come up with a functional National Insurance Scheme  for Journalists working in Nigeria in view of the increasing threats and attacks they face in their daily activities. This is more so because the protection of the country from external threats is not the work of security agencies alone but a matter of collective responsibility which requires the active role of the Press. As the primary source of information in most free and democratic societies, the media is an important partner in the business of enhancing national security.
More than any other professional, journalist shapes public opinion, perception, attitude, patriotism and create public awareness on national issues.
Former National Security Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd) in a keynote address  he delivered at the 8th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State in 2012 on “Nigerian Editors and National Security,” said, our security infrastructure has grown beyond traditional elements such as the Police, Armed Forces, Customs and Immigration activities, to include such government entities and activities such as NAFDAC, freedom of information, protection of pipelines and oil installations, anti-fraud and anti-counterfeit activities, among others.
In the present circumstance where journalists face all sorts of assaults in the practice of their profession, it is important that the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) and the NUJ rise up and provide adequate protection for journalists in the country.
The NPC acts as a ‘buffer’ between the Press and the public and its principal objectives anywhere in the world, include preserving press freedom, ensuring the maintenance of the highest journalistic standards and serving as a forum to which anyone may take a complaint concerning the Press.
The Press Council is expected to operate like a public complaint commission where individuals or organisations that are unhappy with the conduct of a journalist or a news medium could file complaints and vice-versa, in the hope of getting redress. But from observations, the NPC seems not to be effective and sensitive to the plight of journalists in this country. Both journalists and the general public do not feel its impact even in significant issues of public interest involving journalists. This calls to question the existence of such a supposedly ombudsman.

Shedie Okpara