Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) mandates the media to ensure the government’s accountability to the people through reporting. However, other laws passed by the Nigerian government fail to protect journalists carrying out this responsibility and are often deployed as tools to suppress the free press.

DURING the 29th Convocation Ceremony of Kwara State Polytechnic held in November 2023, the institution’s Rector, Abdul Jimoh Mohammed, made a passionate appeal to the government for funds.

Mohammed stated that the institution had funding problems and needed support for course accreditation and rehabilitation of old structures.

According to some reports, he also pleaded that the state government take over salary payments for six months while bragging about infrastructure already developed with the school’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Three months after this passionate appeal, a journalist with online media outlet The Informant 27, Abdulrahman Taye Damilola, reported that Mohammed had been less than truthful about his claims on inadequate funding, as the institution generated over N1 billion annual revenue surplus during the year.

The report also stated that Mohammed’s claims of infrastructural development were inaccurate as some of the projects were shoddy and incomplete.

Following the publication, some staff of the newsroom were arrested by the police. The writer and three of his colleagues, Adisa-Jaji Azeez, Salihu Ayatullahi, and Salihu Shola Taofeek, were arraigned before a magistrate in the state.

The charges brought against them at the time of the arraignment include cyberstalking and conspiracy under sections 24(1b) and 27 of the Cybercrimes Act. They were also charged with defamation under section 393 of Nigeria’s Penal Code.

Although the Act was established to prohibit cybercrime in Nigeria, some parts of the law have been weaponised against online journalists, regardless of the constitutional mandate to perform watchdog responsibilities.

Section 22 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended provides that “the press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this Chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people.”

However, until it was recently amended, Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act, especially subsection 1b, which provides that “any person who knowingly or intentionally sends a message or other matter by means he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or causes such a message to be sent, commits an offence under this Act,” has been repeatedly used to obstruct the achievement of this goal.

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The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice also declared the section inconsistent with Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

Ayattullahi, who serves as The Informant247’s Editor, told The ICIR that the charges were later changed to criminal defamation and conspiracy, and described the ongoing process as draining, as it is taking a toll on both the author of the report and newsroom.

“When you know that even if you have facts they can lock you up at any time on the instruction of powerful people, definitely, even if you have evidence and you want to publish something in the future, you are going to think twice,” Ayatullahi said.

He also noted that delays by the prosecution was further frustrating the productivity of the newsroom and the progress of the case.

“On Monday, we were in court, and they told us that they could not get fuel to appear in court. The magistrate had to adjourn the case till the 15th of this month. Before this last sitting, they told us that they are yet to conclude the investigation, and once they finish the investigation, they are going to bring the evidence to court.

“When they were supposed to bring the evidence to court, they said they don’t have fuel,” he said.

More concerns despite amendment

In February 2024, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu signed an amendment to some sections of the bill, including section 24.

Section 24 (1b) now only punishes a person who sends a message that “he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order, posing a threat to life, or causing such message to be sent.”

While Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have commended this amendment, there are still concerns that the Act can be deployed to stifle freedom of expression.

A press release by six CSOs: Paradigm Initiative, Gatefield, ResearcherNG, FollowTaxes, North-East Humanitarian Hub and Anvarie Tech, urged the federal government to further amend the Act to reduce the chances of abusing citizens’ rights.

“We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to take decisive action in further amending the Act to address these challenges and enact legislation and policy that are rights-respecting with particular interest in Sections 24, 38, 40, and others. We also call for safeguards against possible abuse by more explicitly requiring judicial oversight,” the statement co-signed by the organisations read.

The threat to press freedom and the civic space in Nigeria has been a matter of concern for several years, as journalists and other civic actors are targeted via several means, including laws like the Cybercrime Act, unlawful or prolonged detention and outright attacks by both state and non-state actors.

In 2023, The ICIR traced 39 journalists who had been harassed during the year in the line of duty through media reports, though the list is not exhaustive.

Of the 39, four journalists were staff members of The ICIR.