(A statement by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism on the occasion of the 15th Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting)
The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) has observed attacks on the media, the fourth estate in the realm, and an integral part of the project of democracy, in many parts of the country. The attacks have been from government institutions and some anarchist citizens who lack an understanding of the importance of the media for good governance. Apart from human attacks, the media has also been adversely affected by the economic crisis the lockdown necessitated by the pandemic caused.
The media’s work of providing accurate and timely information is particular crucial in times of crisis like the existential threat the virus posed to our country and the rest of the world. The Nigerian media rose up to this challenge. We supported government efforts to disseminate safety protocols and health guidelines to citizens, identified gaps in government’s efforts and corrected misconceptions about the virus to help all stakeholders to make informed decisions.
State of Press Freedom Report – Trends and Reflections, a report by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism shows that journalists are increasingly exposed to danger while trying to cover crisis situations and bring credible information to the public. Instances of this, particularly during COVID-19 abound. On April 1, officials of the Delta State Taskforce on Environment assaulted the state’s Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Michael Ikeogwu, as well as DAILY POST Correspondent, Matthew Omonigho while monitoring the level of compliance to the stay-at-home order of the state’s government concerning the pandemic. Ikeogwu’s Nikon D3100 photo-camera got damaged during the attack. In less than 24 hours after the Delta State incident, men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) invaded the State secretariat of NUJ, allegedly brutalised no fewer than 12 journalists, who were illegally arrested and detained at the SARS detention facility.
In an earlier event in the wee hours of March 30, a group of soldiers manning a checkpoint at Mbiama, a border town between Rivers and Bayelsa states, attacked and damaged a circulation vehicle belonging to Punch Newspaper, which was on its way to distribute copies of the newspaper in the South-South.
For breaking the story of the COVID-19 case in Rivers State, the General Manager of the state-owned Newspaper Corporation, Vincent Ake, was summarily dismissed for reportedly reporting the case without clearance from the government house on March 26. For doing a similar report on Lassa fever, the Ebonyi State Police Command, on 18 April, arrested The Sun Newspapers’ correspondent for the state, Chijioke Agwu on the order of the governor who claims the report violates the state’s coronavirus law.
A female journalist, Angela Nkwo-Akpolu, the Imo State correspondent of Leadership Newspaper, was attacked by an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS) on March 28, while she was reporting the case of a hotel in Owerri where guests were forcibly quarantined by security agents allegedly because the hotel failed to comply with government’s directives on checking the spread of COVID-19.
Data gathered during a special edition of our Time-Out with Journalists in July showed that all has not been well with the media in Nigeria since the stay-at-home order by the government. With the mainstream media grappling to stay afloat amid the shrinking revenue from adverts and copy sales, salary slashes, non-payment of salaries, downsizing, and compulsory leave became the order of the day.
A survey carried out by a coalition of civil societies, including the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Enough is Enough (EiE Nigeria), International Press Centre (IPC), the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) during the second quarter of the year shows the lack of insurance package and personal protective equipment for journalists covering the pandemic among other things.
The severity of the lay-offs, restricted access of journalists to some government offices including the Aso Rock, and poor safety arrangement for journalists, may not be measurable, but it sure has something to do with the spike in misinformation and disinformation, which the same government at, particularly the federal and state levels, are trying to mitigate.
The media has indeed been masked by all of these challenges. But, we still have a voice and remain an important part of building the future Nigeria deserves. On this eve of the World Human Rights Day, WSCIJ and civil society partners, condemn the incessant harassment of journalists and other people in the media value chain. COVID-19 and other challenges may have successfully masked us, but we refuse to be silenced by conspiracy by government or any other groups or individuals online or offline. We resist all forms of repression to free speech and press freedom, especially by states institutions, who should protect and safeguard the very human rights they sadly attack. We hereby call on the authorities and other stakeholders to put an end to media repression in all its shades and put infrastructure in place to support the growth of the media.
Thank you.
Signed
Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism