Journalists in Abuja have called on the Federal Government to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the detention, harassment, and assault of journalists nationwide during the March 9 gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
Journalists, yesterday, informed the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that they were detained and harassed by security services or other armed individuals, denied access to report on polling stations, forced to delete photographs, and assaulted.
โThe freedom and fairness of any election requires that journalists are permitted to work unimpeded and without fear,โ said Angela Quintal, CPJ Africa program coordinator, in New York. โNigeria must act to ensure journalists can work safely during elections, and the first step is to hold responsible those who attacked or impeded the media during the recent polls.โ
Nonso Isiguzo, a news editor with the privately owned Nigeria Info radio station, told CPJ that he was travelling on election day between polling stations in the Ahoada West Local Government Area in Rivers State when armed men, some wearing camouflage uniforms, stopped their Nigeria Info-branded car, told Isiguzo and his driver, Sunday Isiitu, to get out, and took their car keys. Shortly afterwards, a second car carrying five others whom Isiguzo identified as journalists with accredited press tags was also stopped at the same point on the road, he said.
โI said, โIโm a journalist. Iโm just here to monitor the electionโ,โ Mr Isiguzo told CPJ. But the armed men told Isiguzo, without elaborating, that their โbossโ was being held by the military and the journalists would only be released once the boss was free.
The men released Messrs Isiguzo, Isiitu, and the other journalists after holding them on the side of the road for two hours, after which Isiguzo did not continue reporting in the area.
Also on election day, Segun Adewale, a local politician known as โAerolandโ hit and shoved BBC reporter Ajoke Ulohotse in Lagos-Abeokuta area, according to a report by BBC Pidgin, which included video of the incident, and a BBC statement emailed to CPJ.
โWe will be notifying the police in due course following an incident involving a BBC reporter in Lagos-Abeokuta on 9 March,โ the BBC statement said.
Adewale claimed the BBC โliedโ and he did not โbeat up a lady,โ in a tweet from a social media account linked to his official webpage. CPJ emailed Adewale for comment but received an error message stating that his account was no longer active.
Kunle Sanni, a reporter for the privately ownedย Premium Timesย news website, told CPJ he was held for nearly 30 minutes in the Shendam LGA of Plateau State and forced by three men who identified themselves as โfarmersโ to delete photos of what he believed were underage voters.
CPJ contacted Yakubu Soba, a public relations officer for the Nigerian police in Kaduna, via WhatsApp for comment. Mr Soba requested more specifics about the incident for the police to be able to follow up, which CPJ provided.
