Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a media rights group focused on freedom of expression and press freedom, has called on Governments at all levels to fulfil their obligations to ensure the safety of journalists by investigating all attacks against media practitioners as well as prosecuting and punishing perpetrators of such attacks.
MRA noted that such action would send a strong signal to perpetrators of attack against journalists such that there would be no impunity while also giving the media the confidence to carry out their functions without fear.
MRA made the call at a press conference held in commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists 2022 and the 10-year anniversary of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which was endorsed by the UN Chief Executives Board, the highest-level coordination mechanism in the UN system.
While speaking to journalists at the event, Mr. Ayode Longe, MRA’s Programme Director, reminded the government that the security of citizens is one of its primary functions and urged the Federal Government to develop and adopt robust mechanisms to protect journalists and ensure their safety and security.
Longe who gave an overview of the attacks against journalists in Nigeria said MRA has recorded and documented hundreds of attacks against journalists over the years but there has never been a conviction of perpetrators of such attacks.
“In the last year alone, MRA has collated and documented over 47 incidents of attacks against journalists, media workers and media houses. In the course of their work, journalists have been arrested and detained, assaulted and beaten, abducted, have their equipment and gadgets confiscated and, in some cases, destroyed, have their operations disrupted among other forms of attack,” he explained.
The MRA’s Programme Director, who expressed concern that the Nigerian Police are also being frequently used to harass and intimidate journalists and other media workers by the rich and powerful who are uncomfortable with the media beaming the searchlight on them and their activities, thereafter urged the law enforcement agencies to protect and the media from attacks by political thugs and other bad actors are themselves the worst culprits.
He also called on members of the public to take interest in the safety of journalists and do everything within their power to help protect them and take action to ensure that those who attack journalists are brought to justice.
Also speaking at the press conference, Ms. Obioma Okonkwo, Head of MRA’s Legal Department, implored journalists to speak up on their rights and report any form of abuse or violation.
Okonkwo also reinstates MRA’s commitment to the protection and safety of journalists, adding that the organization provides legal support for journalists whose rights have been abused.