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…
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 police arrest, detain 2 journalists in Ebonyi state
[Editors’ Note: This article has been changed in its headline and fifth paragraph to reflect the Ebonyi governor’s more recent statements.] Abuja, April 24, 2020 — Authorities in Nigeria should stop harassing journalists Peter Okutu and Chijioke Agwu, and must cease using COVID-19-related laws to stifle the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Cameroon releases three journalists jailed under anti-terror law
New York, September 1, 2017–The office of President Paul Biya announced August 30 that Cameroon is ending criminal proceedings against those detained during unrest in the country’s two English-speaking regions. Atia Tilarious Azohnwi, political editor of The Sun, Tim Finnian, editor of Life Time magazine, and Hans Achomba, a freelance documentary filmmaker, are among those…
Cameroon arrests journalists on terror charges
Police arrested Atia Tilarious Azohnwi, the political editor of The Sun, and Amos Fofung, a bureau chief at The Guardian Post, on February 9, 2017, in Buea, the capital of Cameroon’s English-speaking Southwest region, according to media reports. Their arrest came a few hours after police detained a third Cameroonian, Mofor Ndong, for allegedly planning…
CPJ requests information on jailed Cameroonian journalists
March 1, 2017 Issa Tchiroma Bakary Minister of Communication Hotel de Ville Yaoundé Via fax: +237 222 23 30 22; Your Excellency, We at the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent press freedom advocacy organization, are concerned about compounding reports of measures to restrict the media in Cameroon, and request clarification regarding the reported imprisonment…
Boko Haram threatens to kill Nigerian journalist
Abuja, Nigeria, July 15, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to ensure the safety of a Nigerian journalist who received a death threat from a suspected member of the Islamist militant sect Boko Haram. Adeola Akinremi, the features editor of the independent daily ThisDay in Lagos state, told CPJ about the threat…
Government official publicly whips Nigerian journalist
An identified State Security Service agent publicly flogged a reporter on July 3, 2013, while he was on an official visit to the Benue State Government House to deliver a press invitation to the state governor’s chief of staff, according to news reports.
Journalists assaulted, detained during rally in Malaysia
Bangkok, April 30, 2012–Security forces attacked several journalists Saturday while cracking down on a rally in Kuala Lumpur, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists rejects the government’s claims that police acted with restraint and calls for an independent investigation into the attacks.