MEDIA stakeholders have raised concerns over the growing use of frivolous lawsuits to silence critical voices and intimidate journalists and media organisations.
They also proposed solutions to counter these legal threats and other forms of harassment aimed at suppressing press freedom.
The concerns were raised during a workshop organised by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) on Monday, February 24.
The event, themed “Navigating Legal Challenges: Laws that Criminalize Journalism and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) in Newsrooms,” brought together key media professionals and civil society organisations.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Dayo Aiyetan, described SLAPP suits as “frivolous lawsuits filed by individuals and entities that journalists and activists hold to account.”
He explained that these legal actions often arose because many Nigerian newsrooms lacked the financial capacity to mount a strong legal defense.
“The frivolous lawsuits are meant to gag us(media), suppress us and waste our time,” he said.
Aiyetan, who recounted various cases of lawsuits faced by The ICIR and other media organisations in Nigeria, described frivolous lawsuits as existential threat to journalism in the country.
Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times and President of the International Press Institute, Musikilu Mojeed, acknowledged that while some lawsuits were filed to protect reputations, the increasing abuse of legal action against the media was alarming.
He attributed this trend to the lack of consequences for those who initiate baseless litigations.
“Because here in Nigeria, if you’ve made frivolous lawsuits, there’s no consequence. You can go to court because you have money and say this person has written against me, I don’t like it and I want to deal with him. You know you are not likely going to win the case but you want to torture him significantly. Even if you don’t want to win, there will be no consequences.”
Musikilu recalled how the Premium Times and other media outfits had spent thousands of dollars in defending themselves in courts for reporting the truth.
He urged the CJID and other media and civil society organisations to coordinate better coverage of suits against media platforms.
Similarly, the Managing Editor of Premium Times, Idris Akinbajo, raised concerns about corruption within the Nigerian judiciary and the biases some judges hold against the media.
Beyond financial losses, Akinbajo warned that the growing legal threats could discourage investigative journalism, leading media organisations to self-censor for fear of litigation.
The ICIR, in a survey conducted in 2023, found out that out of the 141 respondents, made up of media organisations, journalists and civic advocates, about 40 had been sued within a year.
Out of those sued, some had faced more than three lawsuits within the year while some had been sued for more than 12 times.
Some of them stated that the legal threats had a tremendous effect on their work.
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.