U.S. MRA, ActionAid urge better deal for journalists
03 November 2023 |
4:56 am
In commemoration of this year’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), yesterday, urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure safety of practitioners, by prosecuting errant state and non-state actors.
In commemoration of this year’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), yesterday, urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure safety of practitioners, by prosecuting errant state and non-state actors.
The Executive Director, Edetaen Ojo, said over the years, he captured no fewer than 19 journalists being killed, with nobody charged for the offence.
Acknowledging 10th anniversary of proclamation of the event by the United Nations General Assembly, he noted that it behoves member-states to check harm against media workers for accountability, through impartial, speedy and effective investigation of crimes.
The group recalled that the General Assembly appealed to states to promote a safe and enabling environment for pressmen to deliver.Regrettably, Ojo said in the last 10 years, the Federal Government had not taken any sustainable measure to reverse the trend.
Meanwhile, the United States Department of States has decried continued harassment of reporters, urging governments worldwide to try perpetrators.
Spokesperson for the department, Matthew Miller, in a statement, at the Foreign Press Centre (FPC), Washington DC, yesterday, observed: “Corruption and abuse of power thrive where the free and independent press is suppressed.”
Citing data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, the American revealed that more than 350 journalists have been killed since the UN General Assembly’s proclamation in December 2014.
His words: “Today (yesterday), we reaffirm our commitment to ending impunity for crimes against journalists, and we call on the global community to unite in holding accountable those who direct and perpetrate violence, harassment and intimidation against media workers.”
He lamented that “violence, spurious detentions, harassment and acts of intimidation against media workers carry a tangible harm to both the individual and society at large.”
Besides, ActionAid Nigeria, yesterday, pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to investigate unresolved impunities.In a statement by its Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, the organisation said the commemoration was a poignant reminder.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, he said: “ActionAid Nigeria stands in solemn remembrance of the journalists, who have lost their lives in the pursuit of truth.”
Highlighting instances of impunity against journalists and media houses, the body said: “The demolition of DAAR Communication building in Rivers State was another blatant assault on press freedom and an affront to democratic principles. These incidents starkly underscore the challenges journalists face in their mission to inform the public.
“Regrettably, Nigeria is yet to witness the kind of just resolution for journalists, as exemplified by the landmark Amakiri v. Iwowari case of 1973. Tragically, cases like the killing of Precious Owolabi of Channels TV, Bolade Fasasi of NAWOJ, Zakariya Isa of NTA, the infamous Dele Giwa’s murder, killing of Tordue Salem of Vanguard newspaper, Pelumi Onifade, reportedly killed by officials of the Nigerian police during the #EndSARS protests, and many others remain unresolved.”
It pointed out that these incidents underline a grim pattern, where perpetrators go unapprehended, unprosecuted and unpunished.The media activists noted that the repeated cases of public officers being perpetrators were disturbing.
They stressed that as Nigeria approaches another off-cycle election in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi, the state governments and security agencies must prioritise safety and protection of journalists covering the electoral activities, saying: “it is imperative that journalists are afforded unimpeded access to cover election proceedings, safeguarding the principles of a free and informed electorate.”
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