Participants have risen from a Media Rights Agenda (MRA) workshop with a call on governments at all levels and the security agencies to refrain from misusing the various laws and regulations to inhibit, harass and punish journalists for performing their constitutionally assigned duties of informing the society.
The participants noted that such cruel practice, which has become rampant against defenceless journalists in Nigeria lately, violates the spirit of the Nigerian constitution and undermines the credibility and legitimacy of the country’s legal system.
This and other resolutions were contained in a communique issued at the end of the two-day training workshop on “Laws Affecting the Media and Safety of Journalists,” organised by the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) under the aegis of the MacArthur Foundation and the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusion and Accountability (CMEDIA) in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The workshop, which trained 30 journalists drawn from the six states of the South-West geo-political zone, held between August 6 and 7, 2024.
The training workshop was facilitated by the MRA Executive Director, Mr Edetaen Ojo; Programme Officer, Esther Adeniyi and Head of Legal Department, MRA, Obioma Okonkwo. The facilitators took the 30 participating newspaper, broadcast and online journalists through topics such as national, regional and international frameworks on freedom of expression, media freedom and the safety of journalists; legal frameworks inimical to media freedom in Nigeria; digital security and common digital threats to journalism practice; ethics in journalism practice in Nigeria; beneficial legal frameworks for journalists and the media in Nigeria; how to avoid legal liabilities as journalists; how to protect information, systems, confidential sources and contacts; and avenues for journalists to obtain legal and litigation support.
The participants also “deplored the widespread arrests, brutalisation, harassment and intimidation of Journalists covering the #EndBadGovernance protests in various parts of the country, mostly by law enforcement and security officials, describing such actions as an unacceptable violation of the right of journalists.”
The communique “noted that the right of journalists to cover protests, whether violent or not, and to report reactions to protests by government officials and other actors, is well-established and protected under international human rights laws and called on Federal and State governments to fulfill their obligations to protect Journalists covering the protests while ensuring that those who attack, harass or intimidate journalists in the course of carrying out their professional functions are brought to justice.
The full text of the communique reads:
Communiqué on Workshop on Laws Affecting Media and Journalists’ Safety in Nigeria
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), supported by the MacArthur Foundation through the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the CMEDIA Project, organized a two-day workshop on August 6-7, 2024 at Abeokuta, Ogun State.
About 30 media professionals from the South West attended the event.
The objectives of the workshop were chiefly to provide an overview of Nigeria’s media-related legal framework,offer practical guidance on legal compliance for journalists, and to foster collaboration to address challenges faced by journalists.
Several training sessions were covered during the program and presided over by the Executive Director Of Media Rights Agenda, Edetaen Ojo, Head legal unit, Media Rights Agenda, Obioma Okonkwo and the Program officer, Esther Adeniyi.
These sessions were used to highlight on Freedom of expression and media safety, Legal frameworks affecting media freedom in Nigeria, Digital security threats and mitigation, Ethical journalism practices and Legal protections and support for journalists.
The key observations and recommendations that were made were that Journalists must understand and comply with media laws and ethics to protect themselves and their profession, Regular training on media laws and digital security is essential, Media freedom should be constitutionally guaranteed, and laws hindering journalism should be amended.
Others were that Government agencies must refrain from misusing laws to impede journalists’ work, arrests and harassment of journalists, especially during protests, are unacceptable and must be addressed and Media professionals should collaborate for mutual support and establish a legal support fund.
The participants called for a constitutional amendment to protect media freedom and emphasized the need for ongoing training and legal support for journalists. The participants also expressed gratitude to MRA, MacArthur Foundation, and WSCIJ for their roles in organizing and funding the workshop.
