Nigerian Press Groups Urge Govt to Protect Journalists, End Insecurity

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, prominent Nigerian media organizations, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), have issued a joint appeal to President Bola Tinubu's administration, state governors, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. They demand urgent action to guarantee press freedom, ensure the safety of journalists, and put a definitive end to the escalating insecurity and widespread human rights violations plaguing various parts of northern Nigeria, including Benue, Borno, Kwara, Plateau, and Sokoto states.

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protecting journalists and safeguarding information integrity are central drivers of peace, security, and democratic stability.

This critical call to action follows a conference and interactive session jointly organized by SERAP and NGE. Titled 'The Role of the Media in Promoting People’s Rights, Accountability, and Access to Justice in the Context of Growing Insecurity in Nigeria,' the event highlighted the indispensable role of a free and independent media in fostering peace, security, and democratic stability. In their joint statement, SERAP and NGE emphasized that safeguarding journalists and ensuring information integrity are fundamental drivers of these crucial societal elements.

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any credible peace, recovery, or security strategy in Nigeria must integrate support for free, independent, and pluralistic media alongside humanitarian, institutional, and economic responses.

The organizations voiced profound concern regarding the persistent and widespread nature of violence in northern Nigeria, citing reports of killings, abductions, sexual violence, forced displacement, and destruction of property. They noted that rural communities are repeatedly targeted, with women and children bearing the brunt of the violence and insecurity. This dire situation, they argue, reflects systemic failures by authorities to prevent foreseeable harm, protect communities, investigate violations, prosecute perpetrators and their sponsors, and provide victims with access to justice and effective remedies.

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these patterns reflect systemic failures to prevent foreseeable harm, protect communities, investigate violations, prosecute perpetrators and their sponsors, and ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims.

SERAP and NGE underscored that these grave violations constitute significant breaches of Nigeria's obligations under its own Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The persistent impunity, they warned, erodes public trust and weakens democratic governance. They reiterated that Nigerian authorities at all levels have binding constitutional and international human rights obligations to protect journalists and eradicate insecurity and impunity, urging the Tinubu administration and other relevant authorities to exercise due diligence in preventing, investigating, and remedying these violations.

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The Tinubu administration, state governors, FCT minister and other relevant authorities must exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, and remedy human rights violations, including by ensuring justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators and their sponsors.