PIDOM: CSO Condemns Assault On Press Freedom By Tinubu’s Govt

A civil society organisation, The Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT), has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s government’s glaring assault on press freedom and freedom of expression.

The Tinubu government has shown intolerance for dissenting voices as it clamps down on journalists, social critics and whistleblowers while shielding corrupt persons.

Recently, Isaac Bristol, the person whom Nigerian police alleged to be behind the famous whistleblower account on X, PIDOMNigeria, was abducted by the Nigerian Police and is still in detention. He has been in detention since August 5, while being subjected to torture treatment, with the police demanding civil servants worth N500 million as sureties for his bail.

A few days ago, a journalist, Adejuwon Soyinka, was arrested by the DSS and detained for hours. Earlier, Investigative Journalists Fisayo Soyombo, Daniel Ojukwu, and Abdulrasheed Hammad, among others, were hounded by security men for publishing critical reports.

The Nigerian government had also made several attempts to track the location of Investigative Journalist David Hundeyin, possibly to abduct him.

According to NACAT, the government’s actions in its encounters with investigative journalists and critics are against the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights laws.

The group’s Operations Manager, Stanley Ugagbe, addressed journalists in Abuja on Wednesday and expressed concern for Nigeria’s democracy.

Ugagbe said: “We have been watching with disdain the alarming trend of arrests, detentions, and harassment of investigative journalists by the Nigerian government. These actions are a direct attack on the freedom of the press and a dangerous step toward authoritarianism.

“It is even bemusing that state agents can easily track and arrest investigative journalists, clampdown on those who air their grievances over the failed policies of the government that have subjected the people to untold hardship but cannot track and arrest terrorists and kidnappers, who have turned the nation into a crime zone, making Nigerians live in perpetual fear.

“We demand immediate justice and accountability for these journalists, especially for Isaac (PIDOM), who is still being held in detention. We are troubled that if these actions continue, Nigeria risks degenerating into a lawless society where journalists are silenced or disappear for doing their jobs.

“We urge the President to rescind this trajectory and keep to his words to promote the rule of law, adhere to the principles of separation of powers, and tolerate dissenting views within the ambit of the laws of Nigeria. We seek an open society where citizens can express themselves freely, access unclassified information, and the government is fully accountable to the people.

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Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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