Abuja, Nigeria, February 3, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Nigerian authorities to ensure that international journalists are allowed access to cover the country's elections this month.

Abuja, Nigeria, August 22, 2014--Nigerian authorities should stop harassing the independent newspaper the Daily Trust and allow its journalists to cover the news freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

By Peter Nkanga/CPJ West Africa Representative

Requirements from Nigeria's broadcast regulator that radio and television stations nationwide should give notice of any live transmission of political programs has angered some journalists and raised questions about implementation.

Abuja, Nigeria, July 18, 2014--Nigerian authorities should drop the charges against a publisher who has been held in police custody since Tuesday on accusations of defaming a state governor, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Police on Tuesday detained Oga Tom Uhia, publisher of the monthly independent Power Steering magazine, Alexander Oketa, his lawyer, told CPJ. Uhia was charged in a lower court on Wednesday with five counts of criminal conspiracy, injurious falsehood, and defamation of character, the lawyer said. The prosecution cited a complaint by Gabriel Suswam, governor of Benue State, according to court documents.

Abuja, Nigeria, July 3, 2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists holds Nigerian authorities responsible for the safety of an editor who was seized by armed men on Tuesday and has not been seen since.

By Peter Nkanga/CPJ West Africa Representative

Nigerian authorities have been waging widespread attacks on nearly a dozen independent newspapers under the cover of fighting terrorism. By last weekend, no fewer than 10 newspapers had their operations nationwide disrupted, leading to the loss of hundreds of thousands of newspaper sales.

New York, June 6, 2014--The Nigerian military this morning confiscated or destroyed copies of at least four leading newspapers, Punch, Leadership, Vanguard, and The Nation, around the country, according to news reports. A defense official claimed that authorities were looking for "materials with grave security implications," the reports said.

By Peter Nkanga/CPJ West Africa Correspondent

The struggle between Nigerian authorities and militant extremist group Boko Haram was recently thrust into the global spotlight with the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls, but journalists in the country have been squeezed between the two sides for years.

CPJ’s 2014 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free

Iraq

Unsolved Murders: 100

Population: 32.6 million

Rank: 1

Somalia

Unsolved Murders: 26

Population: 10.2 million

Rank: 2

The Philippines

Unsolved Murders: 51

Population: 96.7 million

Rank: 3

Sri Lanka

Unsolved Murders: 9

Population: 20.3 million

Rank: 4

Syria

Unsolved Murders: 7

Population: 22.4 million

Rank: 5

Afghanistan

Unsolved Murders: 5

Population: 29.8 million

Rank: 6

Mexico

Unsolved Murders: 16

Population: 120.8 million

Rank: 7

Colombia

Unsolved Murders: 6

Population: 47.7 million

Rank: 8

Pakistan

Unsolved Murders: 22

Population: 179.2 million

Rank: 9

Russia

Unsolved Murders: 14

Population: 143.5 million

Rank: 10

Brazil

Unsolved Murders: 9

Population: 198.7 million

Rank: 11

Nigeria

Unsolved Murders: 5

Population: 168.8 million

Rank: 12

India

Unsolved Murders: 7

Population: 1,237 million

Rank: 13

By Peter Nkanga/CPJ West Africa Consultant

Turkey's prime minister made headlines last week by threatening to block Facebook in the country, but as recent events in Nigeria show, a more discreet intervention can be effective in disrupting the free flow of information.