Amnesty International has expressed concern over rising attacks on press freedom in Nigeria, warning that state authorities are increasingly weaponising the law to intimidate and silence journalists.
The alarm was raised in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, during a two-day media training on Human Rights-Centred Journalism, where legal practitioner and rights advocate, Dr. Abdul Mahmud, presented a paper titled: “Press Freedom Under Siege: Arrests, Intimidation, and the Nigerian Constitutional Order.”
Citing recent incidents, Mahmud said the pattern of arrests and intimidation reflects “a deliberate architecture of repression designed to muzzle dissent and criminalise investigative reporting.”
He referenced the case of Daniel Ojukwu, an investigative journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), who went missing on May 1, 2024, before it was revealed that police had secretly detained him for exposing how ₦147 million meant for classrooms was allegedly diverted to a restaurant.
Mahmud also cited the detention of Dayo Aiyetan, publisher of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and his reporter, Nurudeen Akewushola, who were held for nine hours in Abuja this year over allegations of “cyberstalking and defamation” under the Cybercrimes Act.
He declared, “These arrests are not about crime. They are about power, about silencing journalists who dare to expose corruption and abuse of office.”
He described the Cybercrimes Act as the most abused legal instrument against journalists, stressing that “a law enacted to curb fraud has been twisted into a tool for persecution.”
According to him, such clampdowns violate fundamental provisions of the 1999 Constitution, including Section 35 on liberty, Section 36 on fair hearing, and Section 39 on freedom of expression.
“By holding Ojukwu incommunicado or detaining ICIR journalists without due process, the state ruptured the very constitutional order it swore to uphold,” he explained.
Beyond legal violations, Mahmud warned of the chilling effect on journalism: “Each arrest sends ripples of fear through newsrooms, pushing reporters towards self-censorship.
The ultimate casualty is not just the journalist but the Nigerian public, deprived of information critical to democratic accountability.”
He argued that investigative journalism is deliberately targeted because it exposes procurement fraud, corruption, and abuse of power. “The state criminalises exposure and reframes truth-telling as criminality,” he lamented.
Quoting political philosophy, he added: “Freedom multiplies voices, but power prefers singularity. Freedom discloses truths, but power thrives on opacity. Freedom expands public space, but power restricts and colonises it.”
Mahmud warned that the survival of Nigeria’s constitutional order is at stake, recalling late Prof. Ben Nwabueze’s warning on “executive lawlessness.”
He said continued clampdowns risk hollowing out constitutional guarantees and leaving behind only “the shell of democracy.”
As a way forward, he recommended legislative reform of the Cybercrimes Act, stronger judicial protection for Section 39 rights, independent oversight of security agencies, and a national reorientation that treats journalism as a pillar of democracy rather than an enemy of the state.
He concluded: “Press freedom is not a luxury.It is the lifeblood of democracy. A constitutional order that does not defend liberty, especially the liberty of the press, is a contradiction in terms.”
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