•Experts seek end to assault on journalists, as 58 newsmen suffer ill fate in 12 months
By Simeon Mpamugoh
Across the world, journalists and media practitioners have remained endangered species. And experts are bemoaning the seeming lack of concern from both the government and the practitioners themselves.
Statistics indicate that between March last year and January 2017, 58 Nigerian journalists were assaulted, threatened, attacked, battered, arrested, kidnapped or killed. Out of the figure, 53 were male while five were female.
This was disclosed by the Media Monitoring and Safety of Journalists help desk of the Nigerian Journalists Safety Initiative, implemented by the International Press Centre during its last phase of 2016 tweet conference held recently in Ogba, Lagos.
The breakdown of the report showed that 35 of the journalists attacked worked in the print medium, 17 in the broadcast, four on online platforms while two were freelance journalists. The media houses were not left out as the report indicated that a total of five media houses were attacked and those fingered as perpetrators of the assaults were political thugs, security operatives, cult groups and terrorists. The activity tracked incidents and trends of attacks or assaults on journalists in Nigeria on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Speaking on Safeguarding The Press and Safety of Journalists Amidst Rising Conflicts, the immediate past President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Monday Ubani, noted that freedom of the press was construed as the absence of interference by outside entities, such as governments. He noted that in performing its many functions in a democratic society, such as Nigeria, the press derives its general power and support from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, which unequivocally guarantees the right to freedom of expression to all human beings.
Ubani, who was represented at the event by Mr. Edward Ufeli, noted: “Although freedom of information is a universal right, it is a special collective right for journalists. In a democracy, for instance, if the journalist is denied this right, which is exercised through freedom of the press, the entire electorate is denied their right to information on the goings-on in their constituencies. Consequently, democracy can neither grow nor be consolidated.”
He captured the fundamental role of the press in a democracy by its definition – government by the people, adding that this should require the participation of all.
“Yet, it would be meaningless without information and debate to shape policy. Proper democracy entails an open society and a free press is an essential prerequisite to an open society,” he said.
Ubani noted that the media was expected to be the public’s watchdog, activist and guardian as well as educator; entertainer and contemporary chronicler. He noted that in considering whether the press required any additional or special right, or whether the safety of journalists should be promoted to enable them effectively exercise their freedom of expression amidst rising conflicts and also play their multiple fundamental roles in democracy, the issue of whether any other institution could perform these multiple functions better than the press, should be considered.
Giving a global perspective to the issue, he noted that the press was an indispensable part of any liberal society, describing it as the “oxygen of democracy.”
He said: “The press is the principal tool for the dissemination of information on politics. It ensures that society is adequately informed to enable the people understand political issues and effectively participate in the democratic process as well as keep an eye on political leaders who are governing with the mandate of the people to guarantee they pursue the fundamental objectives of the state.”
He cited the United States as the best example of a clear incorporation of the Declaration in the first Amendment of the country’s national constitution, which guarantees the right to gather, publish and distribute information and idea without government restrictions.
“Congress shall make no law… Abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,” he quoted.
However, it was a different case from the Nigerian perspective. Ubani said: “Nigeria, as the 99th member of the United Nations, has incorporated freedom of expression and opinion as a major human right in her constitution. Besides, the Nigerian constitution has always obligated the press to perform the statutory roles of upholding the fundamental objectives of the state and the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.
“Sections 21 and 36 of the 1979 constitution and 22 and 38 of the 1989 constitution guaranteed freedom of expression and statutory roles for the press. While such guarantees were enshrined in sections 22 and 39 of the 1999 constitution as amended, 39 guarantees freedom of expression by giving everybody the right to own any medium of communication.
“In spite of the constitutional provisions, there is no clear indication of strong and special forms of protection for the press to carry out its constitutional obligations without interference, threat to life or extrajudicial repercussions. In fact, in Nigeria, section 22 of the 1999 constitution as amended, which gives the press the statutory role of watchdog, is curtailed by section 45 that unequivocally states that the role of the press as provided in section 22 and 39 can be abrogated by any law reasonably justified in a democracy,” he stated.
He noted that the curtailment was abundantly manifested in the Nigerian media environment with draconian legislation and decrees like Sedition Act, defamation law, Decree 4 of 1984, and Nigerian Press Council law, adding that the indispensable functions of the press could not be performed without the guarantee of the safety of the journalists and media workers. “The safety of journalists is quite simply essential to the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of all of us as well as the right to development,” Ubani stated.
He called on the federal government to implement policies that will ensure the safety of the press in order to enhance a robust democracy in the country, adding that enacting modern and robust laws would help to safeguard journalists.
He further suggested: “Nigeria Union of Journalists should ensure that there is adequate and strict compliance to the ethics of the profession in discharging their duties as the Fourth Estate of the Realm. Government should make the environment conducive and safe for journalists to discharge their obligations of holding it accountable to the people. Journalists, on their part, should strive to be better reporters, news writers and broadcasters. The Nigeria Broadcasting Commission should ensure that the rule of broadcasting is strictly adhered to by all media houses. The Guild of Editors should ensure that good and upright editors are trained in integrity and transparency to stand as gatekeepers of the truth, and media houses should provide insurance policy to their journalists to enable them have a sense of belonging in discharging their functions and objectives.”
In his view, a media practitioner and Managing Director, Sunfair Communications, Mr. Tive Nenedo urged the media to wake up to its responsibility by first protecting its own as a matter of core value by talking about issues that affect its well-being. These, he said, include conditions of service and arrears of unpaid salaries owed its members by some media owners. He said that conversation around issues that pertain to journalists would help break the injustice against them.
He said: “Rather than sitting on our comfort zone, we should start the conversation; the conversation that we are being owed is a way to redress the injustice. We should not continue to remain mute and quiet because that would not help anyone.
“Yes, there is recession in the country. But before the recession, most media owners were not paying salaries. So, recession has become another reason for some of them not to pay salaries as at when due.
“The safety of the media must begin with those inside it; the reporters. It is the reporters who are going to become the editors, news editors and the managing directors. No one becomes an editor overnight without first passing through the rudiment of the trade, but if we continue to pamper the situation, the order would continue,” he said.
He regretted the seeming lack of unity and coordination among media practitioners, adding that even in the civil war era, the media was more coordinated and organized. “There is a bigger war to fight, which is the war on the unity of the media.
Tony Iyare, a former Special Adviser on media to the immediate past governor of Edo State, Mr. Adams Oshiomole. He noted: “Nigerian media has not only remained vibrant but also a bastion of democracy, such that when other civil society organizations failed, the media stood as a guerrilla movement to restore democracy.
“No matter what we think about Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, Nigeria media has towered above its contemporaries in Africa. Under the military rule, the country’s media held the juntas to a standstill and was the defender of democracy under poor conditions of service. The Nigeria media has come a long way in the history of the country, hence the reason to save the practitioners from all forms of attacks.”
He urged practitioners to always add value to the truth through thorough investigation before going to press. He also expressed displeasure at today’s journalists who out of laziness publish without editing press releases.
“I have seen cases where some journalists make a press release a cover choice. And the trend, if allowed to continue, is dangerous, as the media is headed for imminent death,” he observed.