Stop using repressive laws to target journalists, groups urge Nigerian govt

As the planetary assemblage marks World Press Freedom Day, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) person urged Nigerian authorities astatine each levels of authorities to “stop utilizing repressive and anti-media laws specified arsenic the Cybercrimes Act and immoderate codes of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to target, intimidate and harass journalists, critics and media houses.”

The connection followed the interactive league connected ‘the authorities of property state successful Nigeria’ held contiguous astatine the Radisson Blu Hotel successful Ikeja. The lawsuit was jointly organized by SERAP and NGE to people the World Press Freedom Day.

In a associated statement, SERAP and NGE said that “the authorities of President Bola Tinubu, the country’s 36 governors and FCT curate indispensable present genuinely uphold property freedom, guarantee entree to accusation to each Nigerians, obey tribunal judgments, and respect the regularisation of law.”

The groups expressed “serious concerns astir the escalating crackdown connected the close to state of look and media state and the flagrant disregard for the regularisation of instrumentality by authorities astatine each levels of government.”

The groups “note that the suppression of the property successful caller times takes assorted forms ranging from extrajudicial to unlawful detentions, disappearances, malicious prosecutions and wrongful usage of some authorities and instrumentality enforcement.”

The statement, work successful part: “We would proceed to talk information to powerfulness and to clasp authorities to relationship for their law and planetary obligations including connected state of look and media freedom.”

“Nigeria arsenic a state has a agelong and unpleasant past of property gagging and clampdown connected media freedom, which is grounds of extended authorities censorship of media and successful immoderate cases, the utter power of state-owned media houses.”

“This presumption has not changed considerably contempt astir 25 years of unbroken antiauthoritarian regularisation successful the Fourth Republic.”

“We are acrophobic that property state remains nether threat, particularly owed to economical challenges and different challenges specified arsenic navigating integer surveillance, hacking, online harassment and net shutdowns.”

“Freedom of the property is 1 of the cornerstones of a antiauthoritarian society. Journalism is not a crime; it is cardinal to a escaped society.”

“Freedom of the property is intimately related to the state of expression, recovered successful nonfiction conception 39 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the provisions of planetary quality rights treaties specified arsenic nonfiction 9 of the African Charter connected Human and Peoples’ Rights and nonfiction 19 of the International Covenant connected Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is simply a authorities party.”

“Press state is indispensable for journalists and media organisations to study freely successful the nationalist interest. Press state besides has wider significance, arsenic a escaped and autarkic media contributes to transparency and accountability of government.”

“Press state is truthful indispensable not lone for escaped code arsenic a nationalist bully but besides for the enjoyment of different quality rights.”

“It is important not lone to journalists and media organisations, which people the accusation but besides to citizens, who person a close to entree accusation from a diverseness of sources.”

“This successful crook is indispensable to ensuring the effectual workout of the close to enactment successful one’s authorities and the due predetermination of the people’s representatives.”

“Extensive probe has been carried retired connected the existing authorities and the deliberate proposing of Bills aimed astatine silencing dissenting voices and muffling the press. In addition, determination are a plethora of cases of threats, intimidation and existent aggression employing instrumentality enforcement, regulating bodies, and State might.”

“There are incessant reports of censorship and surveillance, each aimed astatine identifying and silencing dissenting opinions rendered successful mainstream media oregon different societal media channels.”

“We are acrophobic that state of accusation requests are often refused by authorities astatine each levels of government.” Inadequate backing and deficiency of entree to autarkic backing person besides been identified arsenic large hindrances to media freedom.”

“We truthful impulse the Federal Government to instrumentality effectual and factual measures to reappraisal existing laws to bespeak respect for media state and quality rights.”

“The NBC indispensable halt utilizing its codes to clamp down connected broadcast stations and to enforce arbitrary fines connected them. The NBC indispensable reappraisal its codes to bring them successful enactment with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and planetary quality rights standards.”

“We impulse the Federal Government to reappraisal laws similar the Official Secrets Act, Criminal Code Act and Cybercrime Act for imaginable restrictions connected escaped code and press; and amend them successful enactment with planetary quality rights standards and Agreements, including the Windhoek Declaration for the Development of a Free, Independent and Pluralistic Press.”

“We impulse the Federal Government to fortify the independency of regulatory bodies similar the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and Nigerian Press Council (NPC) to guarantee impartial regularisation and beforehand self-regulation wrong the media.”

“We impulse the Attorney General to propulsion for the contiguous amendment of the Cybercrimes Act and different repressive legislation, and bring these laws successful enactment with the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and planetary quality rights obligations to which Nigeria is simply a authorities party.”

“We impulse the Attorney General to counsel President Bola Tinubu to promptly obey each outstanding tribunal judgments including the ECOWAS Court judgement directing the Federal Government to repeal the repressive Cybercrimes Act and bring it successful conformity with Nigeria’s planetary quality rights obligations and commitments.”

“We impulse the Minister of Information to promptly reappraisal restrictive and oppressive media authorities successful Nigeria and prosecute the contiguous revision of immoderate provisions that interruption the close to state of expression, entree to accusation including online and media freedom, and guarantee that immoderate restrictions connected media state are necessary, proportionate and the slightest restrictive.”

“We impulse the Minister of Information to guarantee that the regulatory mechanisms including the National Broadcasting Commission are autarkic and beforehand self-regulation of the media.”

“We impulse the Minister of Information to publically explicit committedness to the promotion and extortion of state of look and entree to accusation including online and media state successful Nigeria.”

“We impulse authorities governors to guarantee that information agencies, the Nigeria Police Force and different authorities driblet each charges against journalists, bloggers and different media workers, and critics, and cease further arbitrary closures of vigor and tv stations.”

“We impulse authorities governors to publically enactment and perpetrate to the extortion and promotion of the close to state of expression, entree to accusation and the media freedom, including nationalist reporting of delicate governmental and different issues wrong their states.”

“We impulse authorities governors to guarantee that immoderate authorities oregon information officials recovered liable for obstructing, abusing, oregon attacking journalists, critics oregon media organisations are appropriately disciplined oregon prosecuted.”

“We impulse authorities governors to publically enactment and guarantee the nonstop and afloat exertion of the Freedom of Information Act wrong their respective states.”

“We impulse authorities governors to guarantee capable compensation and reparation for victims of quality rights violations successful their respective states, including restitution, satisfaction, and warrant of non-repetition.”

“We impulse the National Assembly to instantly harmonise each laws pertaining to state of expression, media state and civic abstraction successful Nigeria to confer authorization connected a circumstantial autarkic bureau that volition oversee the collection, maintenance, usage, and dissemination of the idiosyncratic accusation and records of each citizens and prioritise cardinal quality rights.”

“We impulse the National Assembly enactment to sponsor a solution condemning the persistent violations of state of expression, media state and crackdown connected civic abstraction successful Nigeria and each harassment, intimidation, and attacks connected journalists, critics, bloggers and media organisations by authorities governors and the Federal Government.”

“We impulse the National Assembly to promptly and comprehensively reappraisal the Cybercrimes Act and different restrictive legislation, and revise them arsenic due to bring them into enactment with Nigeria’s planetary quality rights obligations and commitments regarding the close to state of expression, entree to accusation and media freedom.”

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“We impulse the National Assembly to instantly driblet immoderate societal media and different bills that would restrict state of expression, media state and civic abstraction and undermine the effectual enjoyment of these rights successful Nigeria.”

“We impulse the planetary assemblage to promote the Nigerian authorities to uphold law and planetary quality rights obligations connected quality rights and to respect, protect, beforehand and fulfil these rights including state of look and opinion, entree to accusation and privateness online and offline, and guarantee a escaped and autarkic media landscape.”

“We impulse the planetary assemblage to clasp Nigerian authorities to relationship for violations of quality rights successful the state including by calling connected the authorities astatine some the Federal and authorities levels to instantly and unconditionally merchandise anyone detained solely for peacefully exercising their quality rights and to instantly retreat immoderate charges against them.”

The interactive league was attended by elder members of the media, civilian nine groups and different stakeholders. Those who attended the lawsuit included: Gbenga Adefaye, Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism; Richard Akinnola; Eze Anaba, President, NGE; Dr Iyobosa Uwugiaren, NGE’s Secretary; Lanre Idowu, CEO of Diamond Publications Ltd; and Abiodun Odusote, Professor of Law, UNILAG.

Others who attended the lawsuit included: Mustapha Isah, erstwhile president of NGE and Silverbird quality director; Fred Braimoh, lawman manager FRCN; and Paulyn Ogbodaga, enforcement manager of AIT.