THE Federal Government has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja for permission to appeal a February 2024 judgment that ordered it to investigate, prosecute, and punish perpetrators of attacks against journalists and other media practitioners.
In a motion on notice filed on December 23, 2025, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), through counsel A.B. Mohammed of the Federal Ministry of Justice, requested an extension of time to appeal the judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The application comes nearly two years after the ruling and after the statutory three-month period for filing an appeal had elapsed.
Under Section 24(2)(a) of the Court of Appeal Act, 2004, appeals against final decisions in civil matters must be filed within three months. The Federal Government did not lodge any appeal within that period following the February 16, 2024 judgment.
Justice Ekwo’s ruling arose from a suit filed on October 26, 2021, by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), represented by human rights lawyer Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga.
In the suit, MRA accused the Federal Government of failing to protect journalists, investigate killings of media practitioners, and bring perpetrators to justice, thereby violating journalists’ rights to life and freedom of expression.
The organisation cited several murdered journalists, including Dele Giwa, former Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, killed by a parcel bomb in 1986; Bolade Fasasi, a former NUJ treasurer, shot dead in Ibadan in 1998; Edward Olalekan Ayo-Ojo, found dead in Lagos in 1999; Omololu Falobi of The Punch, killed in 2006; Godwin Agbroko and Abayomi Ogundeji of ThisDay newspaper, murdered in 2006 and 2008 respectively; and Edo Sule-Ugbagwu of The Nation, killed in 2010.
In his judgment, Justice Ekwo held that journalism is a constitutionally protected profession anchored on Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution and ruled that MRA had established its case with credible evidence.
He granted all eight declaratory reliefs sought by the organisation and ordered the Federal Government to take concrete steps to prevent attacks on journalists, investigate and prosecute offenders, ensure remedies for victims, and build the capacity of security and law enforcement agencies to protect media practitioners.
In seeking leave to appeal, the Federal Government said it was “desirous to appeal” the judgment but did not provide reasons for the 22-month delay, apart from stating that it required more time.
An affidavit in support of the application, sworn to by Kelechi Ohaeri, a litigation officer in the Ministry of Justice, stated that the request was made in the interest of justice and to exercise the government’s constitutional right of appeal.
The affidavit added that a proposed notice of appeal had already been prepared and that the grounds of appeal were “recondite.”
In his written address, Mohammed argued that the government had identified errors in the judgment after reviewing it and was entitled to appeal under Section 243 of the Constitution.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the application.
Over the past decades, journalists in Nigeria have been killed in several violent incidents linked to their professional duties or unsafe conditions during reporting.
According to a report covering 2019–2025, at least 21 journalists were killed in Nigeria over that period, alongside 94 attacks including kidnapping, assault, mob violence and other threats to physical safety.
In 2020, Pelumi Onifade, a young reporter with Gboah TV, was killed during the #EndSARS protests in Lagos while covering events. His body was later found after being in police custody, and the circumstances of his death have not been fully clarified.
In 2019, Precious Owolabi, a Channels Television reporter, was shot and killed by a stray bullet while covering a protest in Abuja, one among several protest‑related fatalities.
Earlier in the decade, Enenche Akogwu, a Channels TV cameraman, was shot and killed while reporting on a Boko Haram‑linked bombing in Kano in January 2012.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.