Freedom of the press in Nigeria and National Development

By Augustine Ibeh

One distinguishing element of human societies is their values, which hold the very fabric of their society together. These values are transmitted from one generation to another through socialization agents. The media is a socialization agent through which societies transmit information, enabling citizens to understand the country’s direction. The media conveys information about daily events and epochal moments from one group to another. “The news helps us define our community. It also creates a common language and common knowledge rooted in reality. Journalism helps to identify a community’s goals, heroes and villains” (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2001, p. 17). As the key agent of information dissemination, the media has the critical duty of shaping society. Through the information it circulates, the citizens know and contribute to the running of the government.

In this essay, I focus on the role of the media in shaping society from dual dimensions: the duty to the government and the citizens. To the government, the media acts as a watchdog, checking its excesses and demands for accountability. “The news media serve as a watchdog, push people beyond complacency, and offer a voice to the forgotten” (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2001, p. 17). In line with this, Nwabueze argues:

The Nigerian society, just like every other society, needs the mass media because governance and the well-being of the people cannot be entrusted to politicians, the elite, and the bureaucrats. This underscores the watchdog role of the press to ensure the checks and balances that make the society work.” (2020, p.1)

Thus, the government ought to be, and is held, accountable to the people via the media. On the other hand, for the public, the media is a major source of enlightenment, a means through which information is passed to them. “The primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing” (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2001, p. 17). These dual functions of the media, to both the government and the masses, are unquestionably essential for development in any society. Hence, the media is the linking-rod that connects the government and the citizens.

However, even if the news media has these essential duties to the government and the citizens, it should be free to carry out these nation-building functions. It follows that there should be no undue interference from any quarters, be it the government, the security agents, or any other social institution – except its constitutional limits and regulatory norms. Freedom of the press in Nigeria is constitutional and should be sacrosanct and solemnly respected. This would go a long way in helping the media to carry out its duties effectively.

The major thrust of this work is the freedom of the press in Nigeria and its contribution to development. A synthesis of the United Nations Human Rights Charter, the Nigerian Constitution, and the Press Freedom Act of Nigeria will be used to consider media abuse concerning corruption. Also, the Nigerian Code of Ethics of Professional Journalism will be examined to determine the efficiency of journalism in Nigeria today. In addition, Kant`s theory of the Categorical Imperative, which advocates for human respect, would be used to evaluate the level of respect that ought to exist among the government, the media professionals, and the public and how politicians should accord respect to journalists especially while carrying out their professional duties. I shall surmise that politicians ought to realize that they are accountable to the public and that the media is the societal watchdog constitutionally empowered to hold them accountable.

Abuse of Media Freedom in Nigeria: The Two Dimensions

In Nigeria, the freedom of the press is protected by section 39 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It reads: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”(Nigerian Constitution, 2018, section 39 subsection 1). Despite this protection by the Constitution, freedom of expression is under attack, and no one, not even the traditional media, is genuinely free to access and transmit undiluted and authentic information to the public. Nigerian government officials and security personnel frequently attack Journalists, and some have lost their lives in the course of their professional duty despite constitutional backing. This has adversely affected the country’s development, particularly in the watchdog function of the media. The abuse of media freedom in Nigeria promotes corruption among the political class.

The question must be asked: when the societal watchdog is silenced, who holds the politicians accountable? Who points out the ruling class’s wrongdoings and informs the public? The late Hugo Lafayete Black, one of the most influential US Supreme Court Justices of the 20th Century, while delivering judgment in the case, New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), noted that:

The Press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of the government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people” (Mackenzie, 1971).

This judgment affirms the necessity of the freedom of the press, even in Nigeria, for once hindered, the media will be unable to carry out this role effectively.

Over the years, there have been cases of onslaught on journalists, but recently, it has become more frequent. In the present democratic dispensation, the cases have alarmingly increased, as should not be in a democracy. In 2019, Premium Times Newspaper published an analysis by the Coalition for Whistle Blowers Protection and Press Freedom, which shows that 352 cases of attacks and harassment on journalists have occurred in Nigeria since 1985. Hence, representing an average of 9.7 attacks per year, but 2018 and 2019 lead with 58 and 61 attacks, respectively. “The year 2018 was initially recorded by the analysis to have witnessed the highest number of attacks (58). But the group’s latest release shows that 2019 has already surpassed that record with the 61 attacks so far…” (Omoniyi, 2019). According to the research,

…as at May 2019, the total number of physical attacks on reporters was 189; equipment searches and seizures, 9; equipment or property damage, 17; arrests, 60; denial of access, 21; threats, 44 and ‘harassment, 12. Of these attacks, 322 were on media houses, while the remaining 30 were meted on individuals. Also, 95 percent of journalists affected were males, while the rest were females (Omoniyi, 2019).

The following year 2020 was another year defined with high rate of crackdown on freedom of the press. Following the report published by Article 19, a London-based media organization that defends and promotes freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide, the year 2020 saw a further increase on the number of media professionals attacked. The numbers are terrifying for a country with constitutional backing on freedom of expression.

According to Bulakali, the deputy director of Article 19:

The key findings of the 51 crimes against in total of 60 journalists documented from January to October 2020: Three journalists have been killed: one by security forces during a protest in Abuja and two by unknown persons in Adamawa and Nasarawa states. 34 journalists have been victims of assaults, including two female journalists. The assaults took place in across the country, including in Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Abia, Anambra, Bauchi, Edo and Rivers states and in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The security forces and government officials were behind the vast majority of these incidents (Bulakali, 2020).

Another independent report by Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) reveals that about 160 attacks on journalists and media firms took place in the last two years. The report was put together by the PTCIJ’s press freedom project and cases were collated through the Press Attack Tracker, a civic technology tool designed to track and report attacks on the press. (Okafor, 2020)

One of the cases of abuse of press freedom that made headlines in 2019 was the Nigerian military attack on Daily Trust Media House. On January 6, 2019, Nigerian armed soldiers shut down the Daily Trust’s Media office located in Maiduguri and arrested Uthman Abubakar, its northeast regional bureau chief, along with a reporter, Ibrahim Sawab. Later the same day, more soldiers invaded the media firm’s head office in Abuja, arrested a staff and carted away dozens of computers. According to Sani Tukur, “The Army spokesperson accused the newspaper firm of disclosing details of planned military operations against Boko Haram terrorists” (Tukur, 2020). Who, then, revealed military classified information to journalism? There is no justification for infringing on the constitutional rights of the media firm. However, journalists ought to be ethical not to divulge classified information to the public especially one that borders on national security.

The nationwide protest against police brutality named “#Endsars” protests saw another public display of violation of the constitutional rights of journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reveals that about 12 journalists were attacked during the “#Endsars” protests. Below are some of the cases documented by CPJ and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA):

1) On October 5, at least five police officers attacked Ebuka Onyeji, a reporter with the Premium Times newspaper, while he was covering protests. 2) On October 11, Gimba Kakanda, a columnist with Daily Trust newspaper, was attacked by police officers. 3) Also on October 11, police attacked Arise Television camera operator, Francis Ogbonna, and reporter Ferdinand Duruoha, while they were covering protests in Nigeria’s capital, according to a video shared on Twitter by Arise Television . 4) On October 13, government authorities in the Nigerian capital, Abuja attacked Mr Duruoha, and two Arise Television camera operators, Jonah Udofia and Joshua Benjamin, according to a report by the independent news site, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), the CPJ reported showed. 5). On October 17, Oluwatoyin Yusuf, a journalist with the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) was attacked by unidentified men while covering a protest in Ashogbo, the state capital. 6) On October 21 in Lagos, unidentified men attacked the offices of Lagos State Television (LST) and the TVC broadcaster 7) While covering the October 21 attack on TVC, Ayo Makinde, a reporter with the privately owned Channels Television broadcaster was assaulted by unidentified people. 8) On October 21, unidentified people twice attacked the privately-owned Nation newspaper in Lagos, setting cars outside on fire, shooting at the building, and stealing computers and broadcast equipment. 9) On October 24, police repeatedly hit Akpokona Omafuaire, a senior photojournalist with the Vanguard newspaper, after he stopped his car on his way to the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ headquarters in Warri, a city in Nigeria’s southern Delta State, according to Omafuaire, who spoke with CPJ via phone. 10) On October 26, Emmanuel Adeyemi, a correspondent with privately-owned The Sun newspaper, was shot by unidentified people as he travelled to the NUJ office in Lokoja, a city in Nigeria’s south-central Kogi State (Onyeji, 2020).

Similarly, former two-time minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Femi Fani-Kayode, on August 20, 2020, verbally assaulted a Daily Trust reporter, Charles Eyo, for asking an “unpleasant” question during a press briefing. Hours later, the ex-minister’s security personnel threatened the journalist. Attack on journalists in the course of carrying out their professional duty is an abuse of press freedom and a violation of the Constitution. (Nigerian Constitution, 2018 section 39 subsection 1)
Abuse of the freedom of the press is dual-dimensional, as mentioned above. The unconscionable attacks on journalists by the political class stem from the existing corruption in the journalistic circle. Journalists abuse their power and court politicians for favors using the evidence they have against them. They also exert their power by twisting how news is published to favor paying politicians and other public figures. In Nigerian circles, this is called “brown envelope” journalism – bribing journalists to give favorable reporting. “The brown envelope as a form of financial gratification is viewed by most people as a form of bribe paid by news sources to journalists to enable the former to get favourable news coverage” (Adeyemi, 2013, p.123). Journalists sell their constitutional rights under the brown envelope regime.

Apart from brown envelope journalism, there are other ways journalists or media firms compromise the integrity of journalism. It may come in the form described above or journalists giving bribes to other journalists or media firms to popularize their doctored information. They also pay bribes to get exclusive scoops and through the organization of events like media executives’ dinners (Adeyemi, 2013, p124). When journalists get unofficial unreasonable payment (bribe) from government officials, they sacrifice the ethics of professional journalism on the altar of praise-singing or the transmission of doctored information.

All forms of corrupt practices among journalists amount to a violation of the ethics of their profession. Corruption in the media is an ethical issue that erodes confidence in the media and questions the professionalism of media actors. Despite having the laws and codes of ethics for media practitioners in Nigeria, adhering to them is a great challenge (Adeyemi, 2013, 125). For instance, the Nigerian Code of Ethics for Professional Journalism reads: “A journalist should neither solicit nor accept bribe, gratification or patronage to suppress or publish information. To demand payment for the publication of news is inimical to the notion of news as a fair, accurate, unbiased and factual report of an event” (Nigerian Code of Ethics for Journalist, 2021, Section1, 2). It means that corrupt practices by journalists and media firms are aberrations of professional journalism. These abnormalities make journalism lose its power as a societal watchdog and its essence. With this compromise, journalists no longer hold the government accountable and can no longer be trusted sources of authentic information to the public. Therefore, it becomes a disservice to the community and an abuse of the freedom of the press. Like antidotes, the above-described abuses (deficiencies) weaken the efficiency of journalists as watchdogs and conveyors of edifying information. Hence, corruption abounds, especially among the political class.

Media Freedom and Corruption

Corrupt practices may be as old as the history of the human race. However, in Nigeria, it is a matter of grave concern that has worsened Nigeria’s chance of speedy development and dented its image among international communities (Adeyemi, 2013, p.125). What, then, is the connection between media freedom and corruption in Nigeria?

Actualization of freedom of the press guarantees objective journalism and dethrones corruption through the instrumentality of investigative journalism. In 2012, Nigeria was estimated to have lost four hundred billion dollars to corruption in oil section since 1960 (Okoye, 2012, p.1). Today, Nigeria ranks 150 least corrupt countries out of 180 countries with 24 points our 100 points, according to Corruption Perception Index as reported by Transparency International (Obadare, 2022, p1). The above numbers show how systemic and embedded corruption is in the country. How then have media firms and journalists contributed to the fight against corruption in Nigeria?

Media firms and journalists have not been indifferent in the battle against corruption. They have significantly impacted on on the fight against corruption. Newspapers over the years, have performed their role as watchdogs to a significant degree (Okoeguale, 2022 p.527). This, they achieve, through news framing and reportage. Media firms and journalists to a large extent are courageous in their reporting of corrupt cases. “The ideological independence of the newspapers was evident in how they framed the reports, clearly expressing their disappointments in developments surrounding the Maina case”(Okoeguale, 2022, p.527) Despite the success recorded by the media in the fight against corruption, more work is need. The effects of corruption confront citizens daily and are evident in various walks of life. Corruption in Nigeria has horrific effects. These effects range from under development, misappropriation of national resources and public funds leading to monumental poverty, bad leadership, “transactional” judiciary, high unemployment and retrogressive economy(Waziri, 2010

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Although the Nigeria media report cases of corruption, they do not often engage in investigative efforts to check the status of the cases prosecuted by EFCC and other relevant agencies. They do not also spend resources to uncover ongoing corrupt practices. This flaw is due to the lack of investigative journalistic practices. Most news on corruption emerge from whatever EFCC and the police is involved in. For a country with such high corruption index, the media should be able to help the society in uncovering a lot of corrupt practices by people in public office through deep rooted and technologically driven investigative reporting

Above, I have argued that the media abuse and corruption within journalistic practices damage Nigeria’s developmental opportunities. Nigerian society is affected by the burdensome level of corruption and requires a very functional and vigilant media to hold public officers accountable and mobilize the citizens to seek their rights. Hence, the media is essential and must be supported to thrive for the survival of democracy. To that effect, I make the following suggestion based on consideration of the UN’s Human Rights Declaration, Kantian Categorical imperative, and Rawl’s theory of justice. Applying these philosophical perspectives will help journalists and government officials better interpret the need to protect freedom of speech and press freedom and uphold professional excellence.

Understanding fundamental human rights would be a step in the right direction. The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, was meant for the universal protection of fundamental human rights. Parts of this declaration read:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood…No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile…Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. (Articles 1, 9, 19).

Nigeria is a signatory to this declaration, and it behooves the country to abide by its dictates. There is need for the press and Civil Society organizations to constantly remind government agencies of this declaration and hold them accountable when they transgress. With this declaration, there is no room for attacks on journalists, first as dignified persons and then as professionals playing a constitutionally protected role in civic value formation, character formation, socialization, and good governance.

Respect for one another is another thing that could help to reduce attacks on journalists. Kant`s theory of Categorical Imperative, which advocates for human respect, will be helpful here. In proposing this theory, Kant argues that morality derives from rationality and that all moral judgments are rationally supported. In his ethics, Respect is seen as an unconditional moral obligation binding in all circumstances and not dependent on a person’s inclination or purpose. What is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong. The capital feature of Kantian theory is that you do not treat another human being as a means to an end. The theory anchors on respect for another person. “…I must strive to ensure that I treat others with respect, not because I may fear them or because I might benefit from doing so, but because if I deal with others in ways that are designed to further my own interests, I am effectively reducing people to means to my own ends instead of treating them as ends in themselves.” (Plaisance, 2009, p.50). We must treat fellow human beings with dignity. So, Kant requires that we respect our fellow human beings because they are humans and not animals. If Nigerians internalize this theory, politicians would respect the journalists, especially in carrying out their professional duties rather than seeing them as infra dig.

Rawls’ theory of justice which states: “Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all” ( Rawls, 1999 p. 266), would help journalists shun corrupt practices and embrace the ethics of professional journalism. He began with what he called “the veil of ignorance,” which opposes any form of class differentiation in society. For Rawls, no one knows his place in society, his class position, or his social status. The second stage of his theory of justice is divided into two principles, namely: the Liberty principle which is meant to ensure that every person enjoys equal fundamental freedom in the society, and distributive justice which proposes that a system of justice must provide a way to distribute the limited goods of the world (Rawls, 1999. p.266). With this theory of justice, journalists must realize that the public is entitled to authentic, undiluted information, including government reports of stewardship. To be fair to the people, journalists must stop “brown envelope” or “ATM” journalism to hold leaders accountable and convey the correct information in line with the Nigerian Code of Professional Journalism. Integrity should be the watchword.

Conclusion
Nigeria is the most populated African nation, with over 200 million people. Nigeria is endowed with enormous natural and human resources and has enjoyed uninterrupted democracy for more than 20 years, yet it is one of the most poorly developed countries in the world. The question is, are the masses enjoying the dividends of democracy? Do citizens enjoy the basic freedom guaranteed by the Constitution and United Nations Charter? Is the freedom of the press, backed up by the Constitution, respected? If the press functions properly without harassment and intimidation, leaders will be more accountable, citizens will participate more actively, and the nation will develop more rapidly.

To end the abuse of the freedom of the press and to foster national development through accountability and transparency, I make the following recommendations:

1). The judiciary should try prosecuting all those abusing media freedom to forestall further occurrences. 2). The Nigerian Union of Journalism (NUJ) should put the necessary machinery to monitor, reduce, and end “brown envelope” journalism and enthrone integrity. This may include regular training to help media practitioners become more professional while stipulating appropriate minimum wage for journalists. 3). The government and the security agencies should be helped to see media practitioners as collaborators in nation-building. A cordial media relations interface will be beneficial for mutual understanding and appreciation of their sometimes parallel roles.

Rev. Augustine Mario Ibe is a Catholic Priest of Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) , Province of Nigeria South East and a graduate student of Media Arts and Technology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, United States.