“Like every other responsible and respected profession, there are few bad eggs, and the journalism profession cannot be an exception, but to be fair and objective, Nigerian journalists are not only courageous, professionally upright and determined to put into practice their best for the good of the country, they have made enormous contribution for Nigeria’s independence as some of the best brains in practice that dominated the global scene with due recognition and respect. That always makes me proud of being a journalist although presently on sabbatical leave for politics”………..Governor Bala Muhammed
A maxim says the pen is mightier than the sword and even more dangerous than any weapon of massive destruction but to the guilty and despots at different strata of leadership either in the public or private sector.
It was courage blended with professionalism that exposed the story of a onetime governor of a state and serving President of the Senate accused of sexual harassment by a fellow senator. The same president of the senate has several cases of stealing and corruption staring him in the face. But the man has refused to save himself from further humiliations and ridiculing the exalted position by vacating the seat.
Another former governor was caught on camera receiving/pocketing large sums of American dollars as gratification right inside the Government House, and today, he shamelessly leads a political party as its national chairman.
Today, three former governors are wearing the tag of ex-convicts for the financial crimes they committed while in office against their states. These are some of the examples of damning exposures from the pens of journalists at the risks of arrest and their lives for public knowledge.
Therefore, whosoever cares to test his misuse of power of authority should be prepared for a fight against the journalist, believing it or not, that fight shall be at his own peril and may have no terminal end until the journalist triumphs.
A journalist has never been trained to be a coward but a warrior armed with the pen as the only weapon for defense and fight. Think of any person in authority or power, the journalist seen parading the streets, dejected, hungry, armed with a midget notebook and a pen, has the ugly side of that person in leadership stored in the archives for the rainy day. I am referring to conventional media practitioners trained to hunt for what makes the headlines as news, not present-day social media warriors lacking training and with no fixed addresses.
One cannot talk of journalism practice without reference to the umbrella body of Nigerian journalists that stands to protect and defend the interests of journalists, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). It was established and registered as a trade union on March 15, 1955. It clocked 70 years in operation on March 15, 2025 that was worth rolling out the drums to celebrate victory for gallantry, courage, and perseverance in the face of several challenges from insane leaders, agents of doom and insanity hooked to power.
As we dined, danced and wined in celebration, it is important to pause and honor our fallen colleagues, tragic victims of impunity and those operating under serious threats from agents of death and their collaborating syndicate in corrupt practices.
Every act of violence, threat, intimidation, or frustration against a journalist constitutes a fundamental assault on the principles of human rights, democracy, and freedom of expression that we all cherish.
According to Anna Politkovskaya, a renowned journalist and advocate for Press Freedom, “Without journalism, there are no freedoms.” The professional pursuit of truth by journalists, alongside their unwavering commitment to exposing corrupt practices and injustice, ought not to be forgotten, ignored or overlooked by any sane mind.
According to Phoenix, the deafening silence surrounding these appalling acts emboldens those who seek to suppress dissent and obscure the truth. Therefore, as journalists, we stand resolutely in solidarity with the families of those who lost their lives in line of duty, and we must collectively demand justice for our safety as watchdogs of the society.
Our effort should also extend to the fortitude of those survivors whom we are bearing the scars of impunity collectively yet we continue with our roles as members of the fourth estate of the realm unbothered.
At Agidingbi in Lagos, where the famous Nigeria Institute of Journalism stands tall with elegance, we were trained to confront challenges and dismantle the culture of impunity to protect and defend the noble profession and the public. We have made sacrifices, we are sacrificing and we shall not relent until the society changes for the good of all. We are determined to uphold the legacies bequeathed our generation in the fight for truth and justice no matter what.
In reference to a report by Media Foundation for West Africa and the Nigerian Union of Journalists, from 2016- 2020, Nigeria recorded the highest level of violence against journalists. These statistics serves as an indictment of deficient record on democracy and the rule of law under the presidency of a ‘repented’ ruthless military dictator Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressive Congress (APC) where there was lack of transparency, high scale corruption flourished unabated and the frequent politics of exclusion; culminating in frustration and violent rivalries, creating perilous environments in which journalists were easy targets of powerful forces intent on suppressing dissent.
Acts of violence against journalists manifest in diverse forms, from murder to harassment and frustration, then threats by overzealous and sycophantic security agents determined to protect dishonesty and maladministration for a bowl of porridge under the cover of official function.
Despite all these, the journalism in some of us has resisted intimidation, threats, or compromise. The truth remains the truth and shall always be the truth no matter what with posterity as the judge.
According to the report published by Phoenix, a random sampling of the following outlines some of the most concerning acts of impunity perpetuated against members of the pen profession in Nigeria:
One hates to recall the bad days when journalists were hunted by agents of khaki rulers and their junior brothers in crime, those in agbada masquerading as politicians. One has been a victim of several attacks and arrests by security agents acting on orders from the top. All those challenges have not affected my style and commitment to investigative journalism. We have seen hell on planet earth in line of duty while trying to educate, inform and entertain the public as a right. Those clowns and sadists have since vacated the scene, licking their wounds while we are still in practice, hale and hearty. What a world!
Some of our seniors in practice, the likes of Andy Iheme, Dahiru Modibbo, Hubert Unegbu, Dan Agbese, Shanka Umar, Obidah Gomwalk, Lawal Hamman Gabdo, Hassan Sani Kontagora (Magajin Rafi), Bimbo Roberts, Siene All-Well Brown, Aminu Abdullahi Wunti, Sylvanus Namang, Garba Deen, Dele Giwa, Segun Osoba, Sani Adamu, Yakubu Ibn Muhammed, Lateef Jakande, Martins Okoh, Shola Omole, Hamza Okorojo, Barnabas Idakula, Tunde Oladipo, Tom Adaba, Sani Abdullahi Wase, Timawus Mathias, James Audu etc, have either gone into vacation due to old age or joined their ancestors in the better world where justice reigns supreme.
Recalling with nostalgia, it was in 1982, I was first arrested along with Jonathan Silas Zwangina (later a Senator) and GZ Olowo Okoro of the Federal College of Education Yola for what the civilian government of the defunct Gongola State referred to inciting news story from our press conference on the Nine Progressive Governors in Yola.
It was on the intervention of Paul Wampana Vintim, then Speaker of the Gongola State House of Assembly, that we regained our freedom after wasting 12 days in detention for an offence we never committed, other than challenging the concoction tagged Progressive Governors.
As a senior reporter with the then Jos-based leftist The Analyst Magazine, one had several running battles with overzealous security operatives acting on orders from the top to either step down or expose a news story or an objective piece. It was a tough and rough time to remember. We shall always have our pen, and they have the gun they can never defeat or silence us in the public domain because we are the ‘dogs’ that bark, bite and watch the society.
Suffice it to say in 1973 on the orders of the then military governor of Rivers State, Alfred Diette-Spiff, Minere Amakiri, a vibrant reporter with the defunct Nigerian Observer Newspaper owned by former Bendel State Government had his head forcibly shaved with broken bottles for reporting on the Governor’s 31st birthday which wasn’t pleasant to the dictator in power.
- In 1977, Chief Chris Okolie, publisher of the now rested Newbreed magazine was detained on the orders of the military government of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo for publishing a factual news story that offended the military government. Thousands of copies of the magazine were confiscated, and the publication banned in 1978. Until after nine- year hiatus the magazine resurfaced on news stand.
- In 1985, Jonathan Ishaku, then the Editor of Jos-based Plateau State Government-owned Nigerian Standard Newspaper, was dismissed from service on the instance of the Federal Military Government for the newspaper’s unrelenting criticisms of the military regime of Gen. Babangida.
- Dele Giwa, a founding editor of NewsWatch magazine, was brutally bombed to death in the comfort of his living room in 1986 for his persistent exposure of sharp corrupt practices and human rights abuses by the Babangida-led military government.
- In a stark reminder of the perilous conditions faced by journalists, four Nigerian reporters from various media houses were tragically killed in Liberia by the Charles Taylor-led National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) in 1990 in the line of duty covering the Liberian civil conflict.
- In 1993, the Nigerian Police, in compliance with a directive from above, raided the offices of Tell Magazine and arrested its Editor-In-Chief, Nosa Ogiebor, and three editors, who were detained for 12 days. Tell was respected for its investigative reports on the military government’s abuses and excesses. The raid and detention represented a blatant effort to intimidate, frustrate and silence the voice of reason and stifle press freedom.
- Founding editors of a highly investigative Newswatch Magazine, Yakubu Muhammed, Dan Agbese and Ray Ekpu were arrested on the orders of the Sani Abacha military government for publishing an article associated with an interview granted by a retired senior military officer perceived against the military government. They were charged with “sedition and criminal intent to cause fear and alarm to the public and disturb public peace.” They were later released on the orders of Sani Abacha, head of the military junta.
- In 1995, Bagauda Kaltho, a fearless investigative journalist from the defunct Bauchi State (Gombe) was arrested, imprisoned and tortured to death in detention under the Sani Abacha military government for publishing critical but objective reports on the excesses of the government.
- In 1995, four Nigerian journalists were convicted for reporting on an alleged coup plot. They were accused of being “accessories after the fact to treason” and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Their conviction was a broader strategy by the military government to silence dissent and stifle opposition. It was indeed a blatant attempt to muzzle the press and suppress criticism of the dictatorship.
- A fearless journalist, Osa Director, Kano State correspondent of Dateline, a sister publication of Tell Magazine, was arrested for publishing a story entitled “Buhari, Abacha at war over oil money”. He was held in military confinement and charged to a Kano magistrate court after 34 days in detention. The magistrate court denied him bail until October 1995 and directed to report to the State Police Command State Investigation and Intelligence Bureau’s (SIIB) office every month and prohibited from publishing any material that could embarrass the government.
- Godwin Agbroko, the chairman of ThisDay newspapers’ Editorial Board, was arrested and detained in 1995 for his editorial publications. In December 1996, he was apprehended by Department of State Security (DSS) and detained for five months without arraignment to court or released even on bail until he was awarded the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award in 1997. In 2006, Godwin was fatally shot in his car in Lagos by unknown assailants suspected to be state sponsored.
- In 1998, Ogun State Bureau Chief for the Guardian newspaper was assassinated in his home by masked gunmen. The murder was suspected to be related to his extensive coverage of political activities in the state that did not go down well with certain political actors.
- In 1999, a freelance journalist was abducted and murdered while reporting on the aged communal clash between Aguleri and Umuleri communities of Anambra State.
- Ben Adaji, Taraba State correspondent of The News/Tempo magazine was apprehended after a manhunt for a story detailing a factional conflict in Taraba State. Not done, he was again arrested and detained for his perceived critical reports (1997 and 2003) all in an attempt to silence him from his professional duties.
- Aso Rock Villa correspondent of The Monitor newspaper, Cyril Mbah was escorted out of the villa by DSS operatives without convincing reason other than the story he wrote in his column of September 14, 2003 entitled “OBJ compels ministers to pray” which was wrongly perceived as critical by then president Obasanjo.
- Eight journalists perished in a catastrophic accident while traveling in the convoy of the then governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye in 2007.
- A journalist with Radio France International (RFI) was in 2009 arrested, detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and arraigned before the court for a phantom offence of sedition against the state. He was discharged and acquitted by Federal High Court 5, Abuja for lack of jurisdiction.
- In 2003, a photojournalist with Daily Independent Newspaper was brutally and primitively assaulted by overzealous 12 mobile policemen from the then vice-president’s security detail in Abuja for just doing his legitimate function which was considered an offence.
- Six journalists on the convoy of former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel lost their lives along Abuja-Lokoja federal highway in 2003
- In 2009, the then governor of Bayelsa State ordered the arrest and eight days detention of a journalist over a published feature article authored by the journalist which was not comfortable for the governor.
- Two journalists from different media organizations were in 2009 arrested and held by State Security Service (SSS) over a report concerning a presidential aircraft.
- An assistant News Editor with the Guardian newspaper was brutally murdered in his Lagos home. His laptop and mobile phone were taken away by the murderers. The gruesome murder was suspected to be state sponsored over an investigating report of alleged fraud in the Nigeria Custom Service. That most likely placed him in the crosshairs of certain crooks in the service.
- In 2010, four journalists from Lagos State Nigeria Union of Journalists Council on their return journey to Lagos from Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State after attending a conference on matters affecting the safety of journalists were abducted and held captive for five days by bandits.
- Two journalists were brutally murdered in Jos, Plateau State while on assignment to interview a certain national legislator for his opinion on the escalating violence between Muslims and Christians in the state. That criminality took place in 2010.
- A journalist in 2010 was handcuffed and threatened by an Abuja Magistrate Zainab Bashir after she rained insults on journalists present in the court to cover proceedings on a controversial case before her and ordered the journalists out of the court. She singled out one of the journalists for arrest and detention in prison without a genuine reason other than either hate or fear of the obvious. The journalist was saved from going to prison by some lawyers at the court.
- In 2010 Muhammed Abdulkadir a journalist with the NTA Abuja had numerous near-fatal encounters as a defence correspondent embedded with troops in counter-terrorism operations in the North-east.
- Editor of Daily Nigerian, Ja’afar Ja’afar had to save his life by relocating to the United Kingdom for publishing a video allegedly showing Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, former governor of Kano State and presently, chairing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) accepting bribe right in the comfort of his office.
- In 2023, an Abuja based reporter with The Sun newspaper was arrested by FCDA security officers for reporting the outcome of a protest against shop demolitions in Abuja. he was released after the intervention of Nigeria Union of Journalists FCT council.
These are few cases of ongoing harassments, intimidations, threats and murder of journalists in Nigeria which has played an insignificant role in muzzling life out of the journalists. Until heaven falls, journalists shall always strive to stand against injustice and other criminal acts bedeviling the society.
“To See and then Pretend, not to See is an act of Betrayal.” The Voice of the People is the Voice of God. The journalist trumpets the voice of the people and shall never betray society. That’s the bottom line.
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
