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250 Journalists Attacked During 2019 Polls, IPC Confirms
With less than eight weeks to the 2023 general election, the International Press Centre (IPC), yesterday, disclosed that about 250 journalists were attacked during coverage of the 2019 general election.
This was made this known by the Executive Director, IPC, Lanre Arogundade, while fielding questions on the sidelines of a presentation of the outcomes of the IPC’s analysis of trends in reportage of the 2023 election issues by 15 print and online newspapers for the period – October and November 2022.
Arogundade urged security agencies to ensure such attacks on the media do not happen before, during and after the 2023 general election, and lamented how journalists were now endangered species in the polity.
He also said the media should be included with those INEC and security agencies would provide security for during the election, and urged security agencies not to attack journalists while carrying out their constitutional duties and allow them to move around freely as far as they have their election coverage permit.
He added that “there is also nothing wrong in providing journalists with bullet-resistant vests.”
According to him, media monitoring forms part of IPC’s activities under a European Union-funded project, ‘Strengthening the media for fair, accurate, ethical, and inclusive coverage of the electoral processes and elections in Nigeria’.
The newspapers monitored were: “The Guardian, The Punch, Daily Sun, Vanguard, ThisDay, Nigerian Tribune, The Nation, Leadership, Daily Trust, and Daily Independent. The five online media were: The Cable, the Premium Times, Eagle Online, RealNews and the Authority”.
He said: “One thing is that as journalists, we must be ethical, professional; and another thing is for a conducive environment to be provided for us. And that’s why I talked about the need for political parties and government to come together and ensure that we are protected as safety matters.
“Though, no journalist was killed on Election Day in 2019 but 250 were molested across the country, including some of them who were accredited, particularly by overzealous law enforcement agencies.
“Among the 250 were those who were also attacked while covering campaign activities. You will recall that when a governorship campaign was being launched in Lagos by one of the political parties, and there was violence involving some party thugs, three of our colleagues in Lagos were shot, while some of them were hit by stray bullets.
“So, we are using this occasion to draw the attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), governments, security agencies and the political parties to their own responsibilities, if they want us to cover these elections effectively.
“For example, it will be wrong for any political party or candidate to deny any one of us access to their public events because the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage says they should give us free access, and where some believe that we’re not doing what is right, they can make use of the regulatory mechanisms to lodge their complaints, but not go after individual journalists who are on the field.
“As we move towards the 2023 general election, we’re also going to be monitoring the situation of journalists. And we’re also calling on journalists to report any threats or attacks.
“So, beyond elections, it is worrisome that not less than nine journalists have been killed, and there have been no investigation,talk less of prosecution of the killers as we speak. And, of course, we knew that of the Vanguard reporter. So, it is a reality that journalists in Nigeria are facing a lot of threats.”
On providing journalists bullet-proof vests, he said, “I don’t know whether that would be a violation of the Police Act, and I don’t know if it is allowed but you see, we need to have this conversation with them. Bullet-proof, why not, especially for cameramen?
“If the police can give us bullet-proof once we are accredited, we will be happy about that. But beyond that, what we are saying is that on Election Day, know that your own life matters.
“As journalists, we have some rights which we don’t exercise. If you are being asked to go and cover the election in an area where there’s likely to be an outbreak of violence, it is your right to ask for protection.”
Also speaking,a Professor in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, while presenting the report, scored media reporting of the 2023 electoral process satisfactory.
She, however, tasked the media on inclusivity reportage.
Ogwezzy-Ndisika also said media should focus on the activities of vulnerable groups in society and other political parties other than the ‘big four’.
“The report presents state of the art on media reportage of elections in Nigeria. It also helps us to have practical direction on what we should do as journalists so that we can deepen democracy, knowing that the media is a critical institution in elections.
“So, it is very important that we do a review of what we have done and the strength of our work, where the gaps are so that we can fill them in order to make an impact in the electoral process come February this year.
“So, I think that it’s kind of self-evaluation that we have done.”
According to her, inclusivity in media reportage was poor as most media organisations basically focused on a particular set of newsmakers, which most times, do not make the readers interested in that particular report.
“Not only that, it has become more urban-centric, so we should delve a little more into the sub-national level, and I think that will improve our work.
“We also found out that about three or four parties are having visibility in the media, so what happens to the other political parties?
“These are questions we should ask ourselves, hence the need to be deliberate. We also looked at the issue of framing.
“How we frame our reports and stories, you know, perhaps, the way we frame them based on the definition of who makes the news may also be accountable.
“So, we should have a rethink of the angle, perspective that we’re going to bring into our stories.
“From the report, we found that we gave little voice to women, people with disabilities, youth and people in hard-to-reach areas.
“We should make our stories multimedia so we can speak to the non-literate people in the rural areas. So, essentially, we need to be deliberate about inclusivity in our reportage”, she said.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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