Nigerian police attack journalist Eniola Daniel over photographs of building demolitions
Abuja, March 4, 2021 — Nigerian authorities should conduct a credible and transparent investigation into the assault of journalist Eniola Daniel and hold his attackers to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 11 a.m. on February 28, seven police officers—six in uniforms and one in plain clothes—attacked Daniel, a reporter with…
Nigerian journalist Benjamin Anaja beaten, detained by security forces
On February 3, 2021, in Ikeja, the capital of Nigeria’s southwestern Lagos state, nine officers from the state Environmental Sanitation Corps assaulted and detained Benjamin Anaja, a reporter with the privately owned The Guild news website, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview, and a statement by the International Press…
Nigerian news website Peoples Gazette blocked, threatened with legal action
New York, February 5, 2021–Nigerian authorities should ensure access to the Peoples Gazette new site is not disrupted and its reporters can work without fear of harassment or intimidation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 26, four mobile internet service providers operating in Nigeria – India-based Airtel, South Africa-based MTN, Nigeria-based 9mobile, and Glo, which…
Nigerian security forces seize journalists’ cameras, delete photos
On January 6, 2021, officers with Nigeria’s Security and Civil Defence Corps harassed at least three photojournalists in Abuja, the capital, seized their cameras, and deleted images they had taken, according to the journalists, who spoke with CPJ, and news reports. The three newspaper photographers—Olatunji Obasa with Punch, Olu Aremo with Leadership, and Mudashiru Atanda…
Murders of journalists more than double worldwide
Retaliatory killings of journalists worldwide rose significantly in 2020 from the previous year, but deaths covering war dropped sharply. A CPJ special report by Jennifer Dunham December 22, 2020 NEW YORK The number of journalists murdered in retaliation for their work more than doubled in 2020, as criminal gangs and militant groups targeted reporters working…
Police harass journalists, fine broadcasters amid protests in Nigeria
Police officers harassed or attacked at least four journalists and media workers in Nigeria’s southern Rivers State in late October 2020, amid protests against police brutality and a curfew imposed by local authorities in response to those protests, according to journalists who spoke with CPJ and news reports. Authorities also fined three news outlets that…
Nigerian authorities must account for death of journalist Onifade Emmanuel Pelumi
Abuja, November 13, 2020–Nigerian authorities should ensure a credible and transparent investigation into the death of journalist Onifade Emmanuel Pelumi, a reporter with the independent online Gboah TV broadcaster, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Pelumi, 20, was last seen alive on October 24 in custody of police…
Nigeria journalist Oga Tom Uhia detained for weeks on defamation complaint
Abuja, November 4, 2020–Authorities in Nigeria should immediately release Oga Tom Uhia, the publisher of local monthly magazine Power Steering, which covers the electrical power sector, and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 13, police arrested Uhia at his residence in Gwarimpa, a suburb of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja,…
Law enforcement and unidentified assailants attack Nigerian journalists and media offices during protests
Abuja, October 26, 2020 – Nigerian authorities should conduct a swift and transparent investigation into recent attacks on journalists and media outlets and ensure that the press can cover ongoing protests safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since October 5, police and demonstrators have attacked at least 12 journalists covering protests against police…
Nigerian photojournalist injured by police while covering protests
On October 1, 2020, Olukayode Jaiyeola, a photojournalist with the privately-owned PUNCH newspaper, was beaten by a police officer while covering a protest against an increase in fuel and electricity tariffs in Maryland, a town in Nigeria’s southwestern Lagos state, according to the journalist who spoke with CPJ via phone, and reports by PUNCH and Media Foundation for West…