The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent
an open letter to the US President, Donald Trump, asking him to
exercise his constitutional powers “pursuant to the Presidential
Proclamations 7750 and 8697 to instruct the US Secretary of State and
US Ambassador in Nigeria to temporarily ban Nigerian state governors
and other senior public officials misusing the criminal justice system
to jail journalists, bloggers and activists reporting on allegations
of corruption from entering the US.”
SERAP also urged Mr Trump to “use Presidential Proclamation 8697
(which allows the US Department of State to deny visas to foreign
officials, their families and friends) who participate in serious
human rights violations and other abuses such as misusing the criminal
justice system to jail journalists, bloggers and activists to prevent
them from reporting on allegations of corruption and other related
cases.”
The letter followed SERAP’s report titled “A Downward Spiral: How
Federal and State Authorities are Tightening the Screws on Media
Freedom in Nigeria” and launched today in Lagos.
In the letter dated October 30 and signed by SERAP deputy director,
Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “Democracy demands ‘maximum
disclosure’ of all government held information, and this won’t happen
without respect for media freedom and the citizens’ rights to know.
Undue restrictions on media freedom and the right to know would imply
nothing short of abrogation of the ideals of democracy and good
governance. Citizens’ right to know is vital for social welfare and
other human rights.”
SERAP also said, “Media freedom and the right of citizens to know
constitute a crucial bulwark of democracy. It is essential for the
general progress of a democratic society if people are to effectively
monitor their government’s affairs and democratically participate in
the running of society, they must have access to government-held
information, which the media should be allowed to freely report.”
SERAP’s report documents the increasing cases of harassment,
intimidation, arbitrary arrests and detention and deaths of
journalists, bloggers and other media workers while carrying out their
legitimate work.
SERAP’s letter read in part: “Specifically, the report documents cases
of attacks on journalists, bloggers and activists reporting on
allegations of corruption and related matters in the following states
of Nigeria: Cross River state; Abia state; Ebonyi state; Kano state;
Jigawa state; Bauchi state; and Kaduna state.”
“Also, 109 journalists were attacked between 2010 and 2015, and
several more journalists, bloggers, radio and TV stations and
activists have been targeted since 2015. At least 36 attacks on
journalists were recorded between January and July 2019 alone, 30 of
the attacks happening during the 2019 general elections.”
“The attacks and harassment include arbitrary arrests and detention,
physical attacks and even deaths. In 2018, at least 45 radio and TV
stations were sanctioned by the authorities on unfounded allegations
of breaching some codes of conduct.”
“Proactive initiatives to protect media freedom and human rights that
would invariably contribute to transparency and accountability
globally have always been in the best long-term interests of the US.
Your application of targeted sanctions would reaffirm US commitments
to human rights, and media freedom and help to supplement the criminal
justice in Nigeria and be entirely consistent with the US
international obligations.”
“SERAP believes that your government’s imposition of targeted
sanctions against those accused of misusing the criminal justice
system to attack, intimidate, harass and jail journalists, bloggers
and activists in Nigeria would help to deter other state governments,
governors and other senior public officials from limiting the
enjoyment of Nigerians’ right to information about what their
government is doing in their names.”
