The yearly World Press Freedom Index has ranked Nigeria 112th in the world, among nations where the media are seen as partly free. The latest ranking only moved Nigeria three steps up, as it was ranked 115th in 2013.
The Paris based media rights watch-dog, Reporters Without Borders defines the partly free countries as those characterised by some restrictions on political rights and civil liberties, often in a context of corruption, weak rule of law, ethnic strife or civil war.
Namibia, Cape Verde and Ghana are three African nations listed among the top 30 nations where the press is free. Ghana is rated 27, Namibia, 22, Cape Verde 24. And scores of other African nations fared better than Nigeria. South Africa, Niger, Botswana, Senegal, Mauritania, Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Uganda, Benin, Togo, Kenya and even crisis-torn Central African Republic were rated above Nigeria.
This year’s report released today noted that conflicts weighed heavily on the media last year and that press freedom was also under increasing threat from abuses by democracies like the United States.
The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders warned of the “growing threat worldwide” from the “tendency to interpret national security needs in an overly broad and abusive manner”.
The United States was singled out for its pursuit of intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, the conviction of WikiLeaks informer Bradley Manning and the secret seizure of phone records from the Associated Press.
The group, known by its French acronym RSF, said the United States had suffered “one of the most significant declines” in press freedom last year, dropping 13 places to 46th in the 180-country index, wedged between Romania and Haiti.
“Countries that pride themselves on being democracies and respecting the rule of law have not set an example, far from it,” RSF said.
Syria remained especially deadly for journalists last year, with RSF reporting nearly 130 media professionals killed in the country since its conflict began in March 2011.
Syria’s overall ranking of fourth from the bottom was unchanged, but RSF has raised concerns about a surge in kidnappings.
Armed conflicts hurt press freedom elsewhere, with Mali falling 22 spots to 122nd and the Central African Republic dropping 43 places to 109th.
The top-ranked countries were Finland, The Netherlands and Norway, unchanged from last year.
At the bottom again were Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan, described by RSF as “news and information black holes and living hells for the journalists who inhabit them”.
Britain dropped three places in the ranking to 33rd, with RSF blaming the “disgraceful pressure” it put on newspaper The Guardian over its reporting of Snowden’s revelations of widespread spying by the US National Security Agency.
In Asia, Japan dropped five spots to 59th, with RSF criticising the adoption late last year of a new “intelligence protection” law that stiffens penalties for those who spill state secrets.
China, which dropped one spot to 175th, “continues to censor and jail dissident bloggers and journalists”, RSF said.
Bulgaria remained the lowest-ranked European Union country in the index, but was “closely challenged” by Greece, which is ranked 99th after years of financial pressure on the media and some violence against journalists.
The report also highlighted “noteworthy rises” in countries where “violence against journalists, direct censorship and misuse of judicial proceedings are on the decline” — including in Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic.
Here are some selected rankings from the index:
1. Finland
2. The Netherlands
3. Norway
…
14. Germany
16. Ireland
18. Canada
23. Belgium
28. Australia
33. Britain
39. France
42. South Africa
46. United States
59. Japan
109. Central African Republic
111. Brazil
112. Nigeria
122. Mali
127. Ukraine
140. India
148. Russia
152. Mexico
154. Turkey
158. Pakistan
159. Egypt
…
177. Syria
178. Turkmenistan
179. North Korea
180. Eritrea Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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