Nigeria was one of the focal points for discussion when over 200 journalists across Africa gathered in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, for a conference on free speech and freedom of expression in September.
The reporters met to discuss the renewed onslaught on journalists and activists across the continent, and at the end of the conference, the reporters sent a clear message to African governments to end attacks on journalists and free speech in their respective domains.
In a communique signed at the end of the International Festival of Freedom of Expression and Press (FILEP) organised by the Norbert Zongo Press Centre (CNP-NZ), the journalists also urged some governments to release of journalists who have been detained for carrying out their legitimate duties.
They also urged the government to put in place deliberate policies aimed at protecting journalists.
“We condemn the incarceration and killing of journalists in nations like Nigeria, Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Ghana and Sierra Leone, Conakry and other African nations,” part of the communique read.
“We condemn the arrest and murder of several African journalists. Governments should guarantee the safety and welfare of journalists who are the defenders of democracy.”
They equally condemned the “tightening of policies aimed at crippling press freedom and freedom of expression”, and urged the countries to expunge laws that oppose the freedom of expression.
It urged such nations to also “do more to curb terrorism and insecurity” rather than deploy state resources to oppress reporters.
The reporters had gathered in honour of Norbert Zongo, a journalist who was killed while investigating the unresolved death of David Ouédraogo.
Ouédraogo was the driver of François Compaoré, the younger brother of the former leader of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré.
Despite death threats, the Zongo continued his investigation until he was murdered.
In Nigeria, it is perhaps not the best of times to be a journalist or civil rights activist going by the spate of attacks on freedom of the press and speech.
While attacks on Nigerian journalists are no longer a new phenomenon, they appear to have taken a turn for concern in recent months.
According to a report published by the Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom, a total of 352 cases of attacks and harassments on journalists have been recorded from 1985 till date.
The year 2018 was initially recorded by the analysis to have witnessed the highest number of attacks at 58. But the group’s latest release shows that 2019 has already surpassed that record with 61 attacks so far, and still counting.
According to the research, as at May this year, the total number of physical attacks on reporters was 189; equipment searches and seizures, 9; equipment or property damage, 17; arrests, 60; denial of access, 21; threats, 44 and ‘harassments’, 12.
Of these 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 rest were females.
About 114 of such attacks were carried out by uniformed personnel (military, police, SSS, SARS, NSCDC, prison officials, EFCC etc).
Other aggressors were union members (3), criminals, thugs etc (56), private security outfits (18), terrorists (9), unknown (33) and others (68).
The country recently got an inglorious mention when a Nigerian journalist, Agba Jalingo, was listed among 10 “most urgent” cases of threats to press freedom around the world.
The list was released One Free Press Coalition, a coalition of about 34 media organisations “standing up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth”, globally.
Members of this coalition include Al Jazeera, the Associated Press, The Financial Times, Deutsche Welle, Reuters, The Washington Post, and Voice of America.
Jalingo, whose ordeal in the hands of the authorities has attracted local and foreign condemnation, is ninth on the list.
The publisher of CrossRiverWatch is standing trial for “treason” over a report alleging that the Governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade, diverted N500million belonging to the state government.
He was arrested on August 22 and has been remanded in the Calabar prison, after a Federal High Court judge denied him bail.
Jalingo, whose appearance in cuffs during prosecution, sparked outrage, insists he is being hounded for carrying out his legitimate duties as a journalist.
Other reporters that have faced the rough end of the authorities in recent past include Luka Biniyat, the Vanguard newspaper Kaduna correspondent, who was accused of falsely claiming that five students of the state College of Education were killed by Fulani herdsmen.
There was also Midat Joseph who was reportedly detained over a WhatsApp comment.
Dipo Awojobi of entertainment tabloid, First Weekly Magazine was arrested on Friday over an alleged defamatory article about a Nigerian politician.
Also, a photojournalist with the Vanguard Newspapers, attached to the Aso Rock Villa, Abayomi Adeshida, was on Thursday morning reportedly manhandled by security details of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom in November condemned “the growing attacks on Nigerian journalists and the alarming trend of media censorship by state authorities’’.
Members of the coalition include African Centre for Media & Information Literacy, Civic Media Lab, Civil, Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), Daily Trust Newspaper, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), International Press Centre (IPC), HEDA Resource Centre and Media Rights Agenda (MRA).
Others are Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), OrderPaper, Paradigm Initiative (P.I), Premium Times (PT), Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), Sahara Reporters (SR), Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), The Cable and Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).
The coalition observed that ‘’public officers and influential individuals are increasingly becoming intolerant of critical reporting and fair comments by journalists.’’
It said such officers now resort to the use of instruments of state criminal justice system to suppress freedom of expression and free press.
“From January, 2019 till date, we have recorded 61 attacks on the media, including arrests, intimidation, detention and killings. We, as a coalition, totally condemn this abuse of power by state actors and security agencies,” the coalition noted.
It also flayed the judiciary for standing idle while the executive trampled on free speech and the media.
“Some sections of the Judiciary, as a consequence of its lack of independence, have become willing tools in the hands of state and federal governments by granting judicial approvals that stifle free speech,” the coalition added.
It listed some journalists, who are presently being prosecuted by the state as Jones Abiri, Jalingo and Nasir Ahmad.
Efforts to get presidential spokespersons, Garba Shehu and Femi Adesina, to comment on the report were unsuccessful. The two officials did not respond to text messages requesting comments.
Also, Shehu did not pick his call on Friday, 4 p.m., while Adesina’s line did not connect after numerous attempts.
A senator, Mohammed Sani Musa, had last Tuesday, introduced a bill he said ‘’will help regulate posts on social media as well as curb fake news on the internet’’.
Some analysts already see the move as a further attempt to curb free speech.
The bill, ‘Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill, 2019’ comes years after a similar social media bill introduced in the eighth Senate, sparked outrage across the country.
The former bill titled “A Bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and other Matters Connected therewith”, sponsored by Bala Ibn Na’Allah sought to compel critics to accompany their petitions with sworn court affidavit, or face six months imprisonment upon conviction.
The bill had scaled through second reading when President Buhari distanced himself from the bill.
The president had said then he will not assent to any anti-social media bill as he “is committed to free speech”.