Nigeria harasses, intimidates journalist for critical weekly
Abuja, Nigeria, February 15, 2013–Authorities should halt their harassment of a Nigerian journalist whose paper published allegations of extrajudicial detentions being carried out by the country’s special army unit, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.Armed officers of Nigeria’s Joint Task Force and members of the State Secret Service (SSS) raided the Kaduna home of…
Attacks on the Press in 2012: Nigeria
President Goodluck Jonathan struggled to maintain stability as Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group based in northern Nigeria, carried out a wave of terrorist attacks against churches, government buildings, and, for the first time, news outlets. In April, the group staged coordinated attacks on offices of three newspapers in two cities, and threatened reprisals against…
Attacks on the Press: Killed in 2012: A Worldwide Roundup
Killed in 2012: A Worldwide Roundup The number of journalists killed in the line of duty rose sharply in 2012, as the war in Syria, a record number of shootings in Somalia, continued violence in Pakistan, and a worrying increase in Brazilian murders contributed to a 49 percent increase in deaths from the previous…
Nigerian journalists charged for criticizing polio campaign
Abuja, Nigeria, February 13, 2013–Authorities in Nigeria’s northern state of Kano should drop the criminal charges filed on Tuesday against two radio journalists who have been detained since Sunday in connection with their criticism of local officials’ handling of a polio vaccination campaign, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Three journalists briefly detained in Nigeria
Four men in plainclothes claiming to be police officers briefly detained three journalists inside an office of a college in Aka Offot, a suburb of Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom state, on February 6, 2013, according to local journalists and news reports. The journalists were reporting on allegations of mismanagement at the federal government-run…
In Nigeria, soldiers attack journalist covering demolition
Two soldiers beat Laolu Harolds, assistant editor of the daily Nigerian Tribune, on January 8, 2013, while he attempted to take pictures of soldiers demolishing local shops in Oyo state, according to news reports. The soldiers were affiliated with the government’s demolition task force team, the reports said.