UNESCO seeks probe of threats against journalists

Representative of Head Office, UNESCO Abuja, Joshi Manish has stressed the need for all threats against journalists to be investigated. Speaking at the ‘Train the trainers workshop for judicial tutors on the curriculum for freedom of expression and safety of journalists’ in Lagos, yesterday, he submitted: “When threats of violence against journalists are not properly investigated, too often, this leads to more severe aggression and murders, which is an extreme form of media censorship.”

Manish argued that the cycle of violence against journalists was often an indication of the weakening of the rule of law and the judicial system globally.To him, freedom of expression is both a fundamental right on its own and an enabler of all other human rights.

A free independent and pluralistic media working in safe conditions can serve as a watchdog for democracy, ensuring the free flow of information and the exercise of the public’s right to access information, he added.

On his part, the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Prof. Ibrahim Abdulqadir, said everyone has the right to freely express without interference.