News

250 Journalists Attacked During 2019 Polls, IPC Confirms

Published

3 years ago

January 25, 2023

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.

News

NDLEA Arrests Four Notorious Female Drug Dealers In Four States

Published

2 days ago

June 8, 2026

The Tide

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested four notorious female drug dealers in Edo, Imo, Kano, and Gombe states.

The Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement in Abuja, yesterday.

Giving a breakdown, Babafemi said that in Edo, an intense sweep of notorious drug hotspots within Benin City by NDLEA operatives on June 2 led to the arrest of four key traffickers, including three females.

“At Uyosa, Benin City, two female suspects were nabbed with a cocktail of illicit substances, including 176 grams of skunk, 65g of Loud, and 5 grams of Methamphetamine.

“Along Agbor road in Benin City, another female suspect, 21-year-old Anita Abraham, was apprehended with 95 grams of Scottish Loud and 329 grams of regular Loud.

“At Upper Mission, Benin City, a male suspect was arrested with a diverse cache of psychotropic substances consisting of Loud, Colorado, Swinol, and Methamphetamine.

“A swift operation by operatives in Kano State on Thursday, June 4, led to the arrest of a 19-year-old suspect, Saifullahi Lawan at the Kafi area of Madobi, with 40 blocks of skunk weighing a total of 38 kilograms,” NDLEA said.

In a related development, Babafemi said, operatives in Gombe state intercepted a 28-year-old suspect on June 1 near Dantiti Plaza in the Tumfure area of Gombe.

“The suspect was caught with 15,000 capsules of tramadol,” he said.

He said the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands and formations equally continued across the country in the past week.

Reacting to the string of successful operations, the NDLEA Chairman, retired, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa commended the officers, men and women of the Imo, Edo, Kano, and Gombe commands for their resilience and vigilance.

Marwa also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

He re-emphasised that the agency remains fully committed to dismantling drug supply chains and would continue to target traffickers regardless of age, gender, or concealment methods.

News

Navy Intercepts Over 135,000 Litres Of Stolen AGO In Rivers

Published

2 days ago

June 8, 2026

The Tide

The Nigerian Navy says its operatives under Operation Delta Sentinel have intercepted over 135,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) during separate operations in Rivers State waterways.

Director of Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said the operations were carried out by personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder around the Onne and Abonema axis.

He said the seizures were made during routine patrols aimed at curbing crude oil theft and illegal fuel transportation across creeks in the state.

In one of the operations, naval personnel intercepted a fibre boat at the entrance of Owogono Creek in Ogu-Bolo Local Government Area carrying drums and jerrycans filled with suspected stolen AGO.

According to him, the occupants abandoned the boat and fled into nearby creeks, while the vessel and about 63,000 litres of product were recovered.

In another operation around Abonema in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, patrol teams intercepted a wooden boat conveying about 72,000 litres of suspected illegally refined AGO concealed in sacks.

The Navy said the products were being transported through waterways for onward distribution before the operation disrupted the movement.

Folorunsho said the recoveries highlight the continued exploitation of creek networks by criminal elements for illegal petroleum product transportation.

He added that all recovered items were handled in line with established procedures on anti-crude oil theft operations.

The Navy reaffirmed its commitment to intelligence-driven operations aimed at dismantling illegal oil networks and protecting Nigeria’s maritime economic assets.

News

PERM SEC Tasks PUBLIC SERVANTS TO EMBRACE ACCOUNTABILITY

Published

2 days ago

June 8, 2026

The Tide

The Permanent Secretary of Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr Honour Sirawoo mni, has charged public servants to embrace accountability and prudent management of public resources, stressing that government funds must be utilised responsibly.

Dr. Sirawoo made the assertion during the 41st anniversary of The Rivers State Television (RSTV), in Elelenwo.

He noted that public service demands commitment and sacrifice, urging workers to justify the opportunities entrusted to them through diligengence and productivity.

“All I try to do is to see that we have value for every kobo that we spend and value for our time.

“Government has a social responsibility to provide opportunities, but when you have one, you must guard it through hard work and ensure your presence is justified,” he stated.

The Permanent Secretary further appealed to workers to see themselves as ambassadors of their respective institutions, adding that government remains committed to creating employment opportunities and improving public service delivery.

Also speaking, former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr (Mrs.) Christiana Atako, praised the station’s professionalism and consistency despite operational challenges.

“We have never been disappointed. In spite of all the challenges RSTV had at that time, they never failed us. They carried our stories very well,” she said.

Dr Atako encouraged staff members to continually improve themselves through training, education and professional development in order to remain competitive in the evolving media industry.

Earlier, Acting General Manager of RSTV, Ambassador Paul Damgbor, described the anniversary celebration as an opportunity to reflect on the station’s journey of over four decades and appreciate those who have contributed to its development.

Pastor Damgbor said that the station had recorded remarkable improvements in recent months through the acquisition of digital cameras, computers as well as upgrades in audio and visual production facilities.

“We have seen great change. We were able to get new brand digital cameras and improve on our audio. We have also provided new computers for key departments, including News, Programmes and the Library,” Damgbor remarked.

He also unveiled a commemorative magazine chronicling the history and achievements of the station, describing it as a valuable reference material for preserving RSTV’s heritage.

The Acting General Manager, however, expressed concern over the theft of critical equipment from the station’s transformer, a development he said had forced the organisation to rely heavily on generator power supply.

The Senior Pastor of Gateway International Church, Pastor George Izunma, who gave a short charge during the event, urged media practitioners to uphold the ethics of journalism and remain committed to accuracy in reporting.

“You are pressmen. You are okay to doubt, but verify,” he advised, stressing the importance of credibility and responsibility in the profession.

He equally highlighted the need to “ask the help of God, sow a seed of help, and step into something as if you have help” stressing the need to move by faith for growth.

Some participants at the event also raised concerns about employment opportunities while commending RSTV’s growth and contributions to public enlightenment in Rivers State.

A major highlight of the celebration was the presentation of an award to the Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications in recognition of its diligence and service to the people of the state. Dr Honour Sirawoo also received a special award for his contributions to the growth and development of RSTV.

Awards were equally presented to outstanding members of staff of RSTV for exemplary performance and their dedication to duty.

The event also featured the unveiling and launch of the RSTV commemorative magazine as well as a tour of the station’s newly built cafeteria and other facilities.

The celebration marked another milestone in the station’s 41-year history and reaffirmed its commitment to excellence in public broadcasting.