A federal government delegation
has told a United Nations special panel that tales about harassment of
journalists only exist in the realm of imagination.
In its submission to the UN human
rights committee that reviewed Nigeria’s situation on civil and political
rights, the delegation said no journalist has been detained for years.
The government delegation
comprised of Nigeria’s permanent mission to the UN, officials of key government
ministries such as interior, justice, foreign affairs, defence, as well as
Department of State Services (DSS).
The committee reviewed the
implementation of the provisions of the international covenant on civil and
political rights in Nigeria.
In its report made available on
its website, the committee quoted the Nigerian delegation as saying the country
respects the rights of citizens and follows due process during prosecution for
offences committed.
Responding to a question on the
alleged use of libel accusations to harass journalists “who were critical of
the government”, the Nigerian delegation said, “no journalists had been
detained.”
“The harassment of journalists
only existed in the realm of imagination.
There is a free press in Nigeria,” it said.
“Certainly, the Government had
electronic media outlets, but there were also several media outlets that were
privately owned. In the capital, there
was even a private radio focusing on human rights called Human Rights Radio
& TV.”
On the military’s alleged
detention of a large number of women in the north-east, Audu Ayinla Kadiri,
Nigeria’s permanent representative to the UN office in Geneva, was quoted as
saying “to the best of the delegation’s knowledge, this was not true”.
Records dispute these claims
Checks on the issue revealed that
at least five Nigerian journalists have been detained in controversial
circumstances in recent years.
For instance, Samuel Ogundipe, a
reporter with Premium Times, was detained by the police for four days over a
story on the report submitted to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on the blockade
of the national assembly.
Uthman Abubakar, the north-east
regional editor of Daily Trust Newspaper, was also detained by the Nigerian
army for about 48 hours over a story the medium published which the military
claimed revealed its ‘plan on the fight against insurgency’.
Timothy Elombah, the editor of
Elombah.com, an online platform, and Daniel Elombah, its publisher, were both
detained for days for allegedly publishing an article which police authorities
were said to have found ‘offensive and
defamatory’.
Jones Abiri, a Bayelsa-based
magazine publisher, had also been detained without trial for about two years
over accusations that he was aiding Niger Delta militants.
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