A two-day workshop on Laws Affecting the Media and the Safety of Journalists in Nigeria, has ended, with participants decrying the increasing cases of intimidation of journalists in the country.
The workshop held between Wednesday, September 11 and Thursday, September 12, 2024 in Enugu, and was organized by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and supported by MacArthur Foundation through the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).
The workshop was organized for journalists in the South East and South South geo-political zones of Nigeria.
A communique drawn after the event and endorsed by participants and trainers condemned the constant attacks on journalists, both by security operatives and the political class.
The workshop said: “Journalists and the media play a vital role in informing the public, in holding those in power accountable, and in strengthening democratic governance, which frequently pits them against the rich and powerful in society.
“Many of them go to great lengths to prevent journalists and the media from performing their functions.
“Journalists and the media in Nigeria are, therefore, witnessing relentless and increasing attacks on them, frequently orchestrated through the abuse or misuse of Laws and regulations by governments, law enforcement, security and intelligence officials as well as rich and powerful non-state actors.
“Journalists in Nigeria are operating in an increasingly hostile digital environment, making them as well as their confidential sources of information and work tools vulnerable and susceptible to digital attacks.
“In this digital environment, journalists are therefore encouraged to adopt robust security measures to protect themselves, their sources of information and their devices and professional equipment from malicious actors as well as from governments, law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies.
“It is therefore imperative that journalists and media organizations familiarize themselves with the laws and regulations affecting journalism and media practice to avoid unnecessary brushes with the law as well as to enable them to better protect themselves and their sources of information, and thus carry out their duties safely and confidently.
“Journalists should also study and strive to have complete familiarity with the prevailing ethical standard, so that they can report more ethically and professionally; better protect themselves.”
The workshop took journalists through several Nigerian laws they can arm themselves with to navigate through pitfalls in the course of their practice.
Some of the laws included parts of the 1999 Nigerian constitution (as amended) which support media practice, the Freedom of Information Act 2011, Official Secrets Act of 1962; the Nigeria Press Council Act of 1992, as amended; the National Broadcasting Commission Act of 1992, as amended; the Criminal Code Act, among others.
