Security agencies should refrain from intimidating journalists through harassment, arbitrary detentions, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has said.
Chairman of the NUJ FCT chapter, Emmanuel Ogbeche, said this in a statement jointly signed by the Secretary of the council Ochiaka Ugwu.
This is coming on the heels of physical harassment and assault of a photojournalist with the Vanguard Newspapers, Oluwagbemiga Olamikan, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday.
The council condemned the continued intimidation and harassment of journalists by personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS).
It said a threat to journalists is a threat to democracy and the rule of law.
“It is worrisome that this is happening exactly one month after the NUJ launched a 5-year review on press freedom in Nigeria starting from 2016 to 2021 where the report indicted state actors who have formed the habit of trying to gag the press always,” the statement said.
“The number of cases where security operatives use excessive force and violence against journalists has significantly increased over the years. Journalists are responsible for providing the public with objective news and any attempt to prevent them from covering public events is a clear violation of the citizen’s right to access information.
The council called for an immediate end to the use of excessive force against journalists and media workers in general.
It also urged the DSS to rein in its operatives in its dealings with the media, adding that the DSS’s arbitrary actions against journalists were embarrassing and further contribute to Nigeria’s poor ranking on the press freedom index
