NUJ Condemns Arrest of Journalists in Kano, Calls for End to Intimidation
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has condemned the arrest and harassment of two journalists in Kano State, calling it an attack on press freedom and democracy.
In a statement signed by NUJ National Secretary Achike Chude, the union criticized the continued intolerance of journalists by some government officials following the arrest of Buhari Abba, an online editor with Kano Times, and Ismail Auwal, a freelance journalist.
The journalists were detained by the police over a report critical of the state’s Commissioner of Information, Ibrahim Waiya.
According to the statement, “Once again, we are being presented with the spectre of disdain and intolerance for journalists and journalism in the country by some members of the elites who feel discomfitured and ‘threatened’ by journalists simply doing their work.”
The NUJ noted that Buhari Abba was invited by the Kano State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID), where he was detained for hours.
The statement emphasized that the journalists did nothing wrong to warrant such treatment, stating that “Nigeria Police continues to allow itself to be dragged in the mud anytime some government officials are unhappy with journalists doing their job.”
Chude reaffirmed the role of journalists in holding power to account, stating that “Journalists do not have any duty or obligation to love those they are supposed to hold accountable. And neither does the practice of journalism impose an adversarial garb on the journalist that puts him in direct confrontation with state or non-state actors.”
The NUJ urged authorities to respect the constitutional provisions protecting press freedom, warning that “no government can win an all-out war against the media, neither do we want one. All we want is to be left alone to do our job in line with the provision of the constitution for the betterment of our country.”
The union called on the Kano State Government and the Nigeria Police to put an end to the intimidation of journalists, adding, “We must constantly remind those who think that they are protecting democracy by endangering it, of the oft-repeated quote that ‘if you want to determine the degree of democracy in a country, you must first look at the degree of freeness of the media.’”
The NUJ reaffirmed its commitment to upholding professional ethics and urged government officials to do the same at all levels.
“We are ever willing to call our members who stray outside the tenets of the profession to order. We expect others at the federal, state, and local government levels to do the same. Stop the intimidation,” the statement added.
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