Nigeria / Africa

Abuja, June 18, 2012–Nigerian authorities must investigate the assault on a Nigerian journalist on June 14 and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. News accounts reported that the attack occurred in the presence of military and police officers who did not come to the journalist’s aid.

Abuja, June 13, 2012–A Nigerian journalist was assaulted by an immigration officer in the capital, Abuja, Tuesday, according to local journalists and news reports. Joshua Uma, a journalist with the daily Leadership, was on assignment covering a protest by retirees over non-payment of pensions.

On World Press Freedom Day last week, Nigeria’s Information Minister, Labaran Maku, publicly asserted that the country’s media “is one of the freest in the universe.” On paper, Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution guarantees the freedom of the press to “uphold…the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.” But seven journalists who attempted to put…

Will China’s quickly expanding media presence in Africa result in a fresh, alternative, and balanced perspective on the continent–much as Al-Jazeera altered the broadcast landscape with the launch of its English service in 2006–or will it be essentially an exercise in propaganda?

New York, April 26, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns bombings today targeting two of the offices of ThisDay newspaper in Nigeria. At least nine people were killed and more than a dozen wounded in the attacks, for which the Islamist militant sect Boko Haram claimed responsibility, according to news reports.

New York, March 19, 2012–A Nigerian journalist who has extensively covered the conflict between the government and Islamist sect Boko Haram says his life is under threat. Ahmad Salkida, an independent journalist, told CPJ that he noticed a white 4X4 Hilux with a Lagos state registration number following him on Thursday for several hours, including…

New York, February 8, 2012–Nigeria’s military has harassed and obstructed journalists trying to report on unrest in recent days, according to local journalists and news reports.

New York, February 7, 2012–Nigerian authorities have locked reporters based at the country’s biggest airport out of their press center and withheld their equipment since Saturday, according to local journalists and news reports.

New York, January 20, 2012–A television reporter covering the aftermath of coordinated terrorist attacks in northern Nigeria was gunned down this afternoon, according to local journalists and news reports.

New York, January 20, 2012–Nigerian authorities should launch a thorough and transparent investigation into the murder of a radio journalist whose body was found on Thursday morning, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.