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Daud Olatunji
While Nigeria joins the world to mark on the day of the World Press Freedom of 2025, the new reports of the groups for media rights have shown that no less than 150 Nigerian journalists have been killed, attacked, detained or harassed between 2020 and 2024.
Platform Times reports that at least 150 Nigerian journalists have been killed, attacked, detained illegally or harassed in the last five years, according to the results of the main organizations of defense of the freedom of the press, including the international press center, journalists without borders and the committee to protect journalists.
The disturbing figure arrives while Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day of 2025, with the media professionals who complain of a civil space in rapid resistance and an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.
A combined analysis of the relationships of the three groups shows that 25 journalists have lost their lives in suspicious violent circumstances or confirmed between 2020 and 2024, while over 100 others have been harassed, detained or attacked, mainly by security agents and political actors.
In its report on the press freedom of 2024, the International Press Center (IPC) recorded 45 separate accidents of attacks on journalists only in 2023.
These included the physical assault of journalists who cover protests, arrests of investigative journalists and raids on media homes by government agencies.
One of the most high profile cases was the killing of Alex Ogbu, a journalist shot during a protest in Abuja in January 2020. Despite multiple requests for justice from the groups of civil society, no one was held responsible.
“Journalists in Nigeria are working under siege,” said Lanre Arogundade, executive director of the IPC. “From security agents to political actors, the message is clear: critical voices are not welcome. This is a direct threat to democracy.”
The Committee to protect journalists (CPJ) also listed Nigeria among countries with the highest levels of press repression in Sub-Saharan Africa in its global updating on the press freedom of 2024.
According to CPJ, several journalists remain behind bars or in legal limbo for the relationships that exhibit corruption and safety drops.
In addition, the boundless journalists (RSF) ranked Nigeria 123 ° out of 180 countries in its 2024 world press freedom index, a fall from 115 ° of 2021-The indication of growing censorship, harassment and self-censorship within the Nigerian press.
Since the World Press Freedom Day is marked by the theme “A print for the planet: journalism in front of the environmental crisis”, Nigerian journalists say that they are still fighting for the fundamental right of reporting without intimidation.
Recent cases have seen inmate journalists while covering illegal extraction in the North-West and oil pollution in the Niger delta.
Two journalists who work on a documentary on the deforestation in Kaduna were arrested for five days in April without accusations.
“Before we can talk about journalism for development or the environment, we must first be free to do our work without fear,” said Tomiwa Adeyemi, an investigative journalist based in Lagos.
The union of the Nigeria of journalists (Nuj) and various civil society organizations have invited the federal government to urgently implement legislation to protect journalists and pursue individuals and institutions behind attacks on media professionals.
Despite the constitutional guarantees pursuant to section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, the role of the Nigerian press guard dog remains threatened, pushing observers to question the real commitment of the government for freedom of expression.
“No journalist should be killed or imprisoned for doing his job,” said Arogundade.
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