NOVEMBER 2nd of every year is observed as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI). This day serves as a powerful condemnation of all acts of violence and aggression directed at journalists and media professionals.
It is a critical moment to elevate global awareness regarding the safety of journalists and to press member states to implement effective measures to prevent violence, ensure that perpetrators are held accountable, and foster a secure environment where journalists can practice their profession independently. The date commemorates the murder of two French journalists in Mali on November 2, 2013.
The 2025 theme, “Chat GBV: Raising Awareness on AI facilitated Gender Based Violence against Women,” highlights an urgent, evolving threat, especially for female journalists in the digital age. This focus is particularly pertinent in Nigeria, where journalists, male and female, face persistent attacks, often with little to no legal consequence for their assailants.
Battle on the frontlines: Attacks on female journalists
Recent accounts from Nigeria vividly illustrate the dual challenges of physical assault and sexual harassment faced by female journalists. These attacks occur both in the field and within newsrooms, and are increasingly migrating to online platforms.
The risks of on-the-job reporting frequently escalate into physical danger:
In February 2024, a Whistler reporter, Kasarachchi Aniagolu, was detained, slapped, physically assaulted, and reportedly hit with a gun by police officers in Abuja while reporting on a currency trading area raid. Despite showing her press identification and requesting a formal interview, she became a target.
In May 2023, Cliqq TV journalist Rukayya Jibia was assaulted by approximately 20 policemen in Katsina. Her offence was questioning the police decision to parade four young women arrested on prostitution allegations before trial, citing the Nigerian Constitution’s presumption of innocence.
Jibia stated that an officer personally twisted her hand and smashed her phone on the ground. She was detained for about five hours after being dragged to the Emir’s palace, where she was not permitted to defend herself against police accusations of undermining their authority.
Azuka Ogujiuba, a Lagos-based journalist and publisher, was subjected to an unlawful detention in an Abuja police cell for three days without food following a report on a land dispute involving a real estate developer. She was later ambushed by policemen “in a gangster like manner” and coerced into signing an apology letter circulated to discredit her publication, despite a directive from the Inspector General of Police cautioning officers against interfering in purely civil matters.
Similarly, in August 2025, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) transport reporter Ladi Bala, a former President of the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), was verbally abused and intimidated by the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Kayode Opeifa, while covering a train derailment along the Abuja-Kaduna rail line.
Opeifa disrupted her live report and allegedly used demeaning language, ordering security to remove her. Although Opeifa later publicly apologised on August 31, 2025, claiming his actions were due to intense pressure, the initial incident highlights the hostility faced by women in the media.
Also in October 2025, Jay 101.9 FM journalists Ruth Marcus and Keshia Jang were arrested by operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) in Jos, Plateau State, for posting a video of a confrontation between a cleric and security operatives at the funeral of a politician’s mother. Following public and media outrage, they were eventually released, but their illegal detention underscores the security agencies’ disregard for press freedom.
Hafsah Muhammed of WikkiTimes narrowly escaped a robbery by machete-wielding men while on her way to submit a Freedom of Information request in Gombe during the 2023 general elections.
Bolanle Olabimtan, a reporter for TheCable, was harassed by political thugs who confiscated her phone and deleted her footage. Adefemi Akinsanya of Arise TV was filmed shielding her crew from officers trying to seize their drone during the 2021 #EndSARS memorial.
Sexual harassment and coercion
Female journalists frequently navigate a deeply patriarchal environment where sexual harassment is used to control or obstruct their work:
WikkiTimes reporter Victoria Ogechukwu recounted that a source in Bauchi offered her cash and a hotel room instead of the budget documents she was seeking. Another investigative journalist, Hadiza Musa Yusuf, was approached by an elderly source in Kano’s civil service who repeatedly avoided answering her questions.
A former contract announcer at Katsina State Radio reported repeated sexual harassment during her decade-long tenure before her sudden dismissal in November 2023. A television presenter, identified as *Khadija, was subjected to a boss who publicly berated her and piled extra chores, forcing her eventual transfer.
In other news, veteran broadcaster Khadija Abdullahi was targeted by male colleagues in Kano who questioned her frequent visibility on flagship programmes, saying, “Does it always have to be Khadija?” This, combined with inappropriate messages online, pushed her to step down from certain anchoring roles. Sadia*, a newly hired journalist, faced routine dismissal of her work and stereotypical assumptions based on her background from her middle-aged male editor.
Online abuse
The threats extend viciously into the digital realm, impacting mental health and productivity:
A UNESCO ICFJ study found that 73 per cent of female reporters have experienced online harassment. Alarmingly, one in five respondents reported that this digital abuse escalated into offline threats or attacks, and 18 per cent were specifically threatened with sexual violence related to their reporting.
The unrelenting abuse leads to a devastating mental toll, with journalists reporting anxiety, depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Akinsanya admitted that she has avoided watching the video of her assault because it remains “quite traumatic.”
A shared predicament: Attacks on male journalists
The culture of impunity is not limited to attacks on women. Reports from The ICIR confirm that male journalists are also targets of violence and unlawful detention, often perpetrated by security operatives and powerful individuals attempting to suppress accountability.
In one incident, Marcus Fatunmole, News Editor at The ICIR, was detained for approximately six hours in Abuja by security operatives, including a police officer, while investigating a viral video about luxury buses for mass transit in December 2023. His phone was seized, and his Google account was accessed.
In December 2023, Godwin Tsa, a journalist with The Sun newspaper, was forcibly arrested by security officers from the Department of Development Control at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). Similarly, Precious Eze, an online publisher, was arrested and held incommunicado, with his laptop and devices confiscated in December 2023.
Reports indicate that a Special Task Force of the Nigeria Police from Abuja arrested and held Precious Eze incommunicado, confiscating his electronic devices in December 2023. Earlier, in November 2023, the Niger State Commissioner of Homeland Security reportedly assaulted Mustapha Batsari, a journalist reporting for Voice of America.
The collective experiences of Nigerian journalists paint a grim picture: from physical assault and illegal detention to sexual coercion and online smear campaigns.
Analysts say the international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists must serve as more than an annual reminder; it is a vital call to action. While the legal framework exists within Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution prohibits gender based discrimination, it is the lack of enforcement that allows impunity to thrive, some said.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance