Nigerian authorities should investigate incidents involving at least 28 journalists and media workers who were attacked and harassed while covering state elections and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says.
The CPJ says in a statement, that it tracked at least 28 cases involving members of the press who were obstructed, harassed, or attacked while covering gubernatorial and state assembly elections across Nigeria on March 18 and 19, following news reports and the accounts of journalists who spoke with CPJ.
“Nigerian authorities should swiftly identify and hold accountable those responsible for the recent attacks, harassment, and intimidation of journalists covering state elections and ensure that members of the press feel safe to report on political issues,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Freedom of the press during elections, which of course includes journalists’ safety to do their work, is fundamental to the democratic process.”
The CPJ further said in the statement that, “On March 18, at least 10 unidentified men punched and used sticks to hit a TV crew with the privately owned broadcaster, Arise TV after they used a drone to film voting stations in southwestern Lagos state, according to a report by their outlet, a statement by the International Press Centre, a local media group, and one of the crew members, correspondent Oba Adeoye, who spoke with CPJ by phone.
“Nearby security officers did not intervene while the men attacked Adeoye, camera operator Opeyemi Adenihun, and driver Yusuf Hassan, but seized the drone following the incident. Adenihun said he received medical treatment the next day for a cut to his face”, the statement further added.
Lagos police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin reportedly told CPJ by phone that police were investigating and that Adenihun was invited for questioning on March 20 but said he did not appear. Adenihun told CPJ by phone that he had not heard from police since he reported the incident on March 18 it was said.
In Ikeja, the capital of Lagos state, Ima Elijah, a reporter with the privately owned news website Pulse.ng and her camera operator were harassed and forced out of a polling unit by unidentified individuals who insisted that the elections at that polling unit should not be reported by the media, according to a report and Instagram video by the outlet, CPJ said.
The organization further stated that in Ikeja, also in Lagos State, two officials from Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) allegedly prevented Chibuike Chukwu, a reporter with the privately owned news website, Independent, from taking pictures or videos at a polling place, according to a report by the outlet and a person familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.
In the northern city of Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, three state security officers slapped, punched, and used sticks to hit Edwin Philip, a reporter with private broadcaster Breeze 99.9 FM, on orders from a palace official at a polling unit, according to news reports and Philip, who spoke to CPJ by phone, CPJ claimed.
