18th September, 2009

The Hon. Minister of information and Communication,
Professor Dora Akunyili,
Federal Ministry of Information and Communication,
Radio House, Garki,
Abuja.

Dear Madam,

ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS: A CALL FOR ACTION

We bring you greetings on behalf of our members from across Nigeria and pray that the love of God and mankind will be your hallmark in both your private and public service.

We are compelled by the poetic and highly philosophical import of what Gulistan Sadi’s wise saying derived from “the rose Garden, written in 1256, which has it that; “the sons of Adam are like the limbs of the same body. For they share the same essence in creation. When one limb is put to pain, the other limbs cannot remain at rest; o thou who do not feel the suffering of mankind thou deserves not to be called a human being”.

Article one of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which Nigeria subscribes to emphatically states that; “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood”.

Our purpose for writing you at this auspicious moment is to bring to your attention that we had earlier sent a letter to the Federal Minister of Information and Communication in the current dispensation to raise our strong concern over the brutal attacks unleashed against Journalists by some law enforcement agents paid with tax payers’ money in Nigeria. In that letter, we had advised your predecessor that there was an urgent need for the Federal Ministry of Information and Communication to organize series of capacity building seminars to be facilitated by human rights scholars for the benefit of members of the nation’s law enforcement agencies like the police, state security service (SSS), the Armed forces and other para-military outfits. We did not receive any reply from Mr. John Odey who was the then Minister of Information and Communication.

Similarly, we wrote you a letter regarding the situation of some of our compatriots (citizens of Nigeria) in Libya who are treated and persecuted like slaves following allegations by the Libyan authorities that this category of Nigerians were illegal immigrants. Recall madam that you did not reply our letter sent to you in April 2009.

We will not lose faith in your ability to activate modalities and strategies for tackling and redressing the persistent attacks and brutal physical assaults of Journalists all across Nigeria by the security operatives who ought to operate as law enforcement officials. Journalists have also come under all kinds of attacks by some unidentified armed operatives all over Nigeria.

On the last count, Journalists have come under physical attacks in Imo, Ebonyi, parts of south west, Borno and lately Benue state where two Journalists narrowly escaped death by the whiskers.

We have received reports from Benue state on the prevailing state of fear, apprehension and insecurity under which virtually all Journalists attached to mainstream print media are working especially because of threats and actual physical assaults by people suspected to be armed political thugs and unfortunately the police in Benue state have clearly failed to arrest any of these armed thugs responsible for these dastardly acts.

For the avoidance of doubts, we will repeat a segment of a well investigated report of the spate of attacks directed at Journalists in Benue state as documented by an eye witness who incidentally is also facing threats of attack after he received several threat messages on his phone.

Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu reported in the Guardian of Thursday, September 17th, 2009, on page 12 thus;
“…Benue state is also getting acknowledged for something else less laudable. Journalists are finding Benue State a hazardous zone in which to ply their trade.”

“When in June, the publisher of a widely circulated newspaper in Benue state, Mr. Ephraim Appiah was attacked by suspected thugs in his office in Gboko, many people became troubled”.

“In the attack, Appiah, who was beaten to an inch of his life, sustained serious injuries that many thought he would die. But he survived”.

Mr. Nwakaudu continued the story thus; “Shortly after Appiah was nearly killed, unknown persons began sending threatening text messages to correspondents of major national dailies in the state. The messages carried a warning to the recipients that the attack on Appiah was a warning to journalists to desist from what was termed unfriendly reportage of evens in the state”.

According to the text messages, those marked for attack included Mr. Hir Joseph of Daily Trust, Mr. Terna Doki of Daily Independent and Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu of Guardian Newspapers Limited. The messages had ominously indicated that after those reporters had been dealt with, others would be forced to fall in line.

Narrating what happened to the Daily Trust Benue State Correspondent Joseph Hir, Nwakaudu stated that; “On Friday last week, armed men, suspected to be political thugs waylaid and assaulted the Benue State Correspondent of Daily Trust, Mr. Hir Joseph near his residence at Agba Sankera Street, Judges Quarters Extension, Makurdi the state capital”.

The thugs who were armed with guns, machetes, iron rods and sticks had used a Toyota Starlet car to waylay Joseph shortly after he had driven out of his premises.

When they forced him to stop, they dragged him out of his car and used horse whips to thrash him thoroughly.

Thereafter, they used the iron rods to smash the front and rear windscreens of his car, a Honda Acura, with registration number, AU432SKK.

They also smashed all the windows of the care and forced the reporter to open the bonnet of the car, after which they smashed and damaged the engine compartment, using bricks and rods.

They also cut all the electrical fittings in the car into shreds and slashed the four tyres.

Instructively, as the political thugs went about their heinous act, they kept shouting that Joseph should be prepared to report his humiliation, the way he had been reporting all the programmes and projects of the government.

“They told him that they would never allow any reporter write anything that would present the Benue State Government in bad light”.

Honorable minister, we are disturbed that these carefully planned brutal assaults of Journalists have continued without the police or any of the law enforcement agents being able to uncover the people behind them and charge them to court in line with the laws of Nigeria.

Recall that section 22 clearly 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”.

Since Journalists constitutionally are obliged to become vanguards of good governance and the consciences of the nation, it is unconstitutional for some reactionary forces to be allowed to unleash a reign of coordinated attacks on the Journalists who are discharging their duties in line with the 1999 constitution.

Recall also, honorable minister, that section 14(2) (b) of the constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that; “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. It is therefore an indictment of unprecedented dimension that innocent media workers would be subjected to massive horrendous violence unleashed by armed thugs while the security agents have failed in their constitutional duty to provide the security of lives and properties of not Just the Journalists but even other law abiding citizens. The spate of violence unleashed on Journalists represents a spectacular failure of the re-brand Nigeria project which is so dear to you as the Federal Minister of Information and Communication.

It is our considered opinion that democracy without respect for the human rights of all citizens irrespective of their persuasions, affiliations or professions, is doomed to fail and the current administration owe Nigerians the sacred duty to protect and promote their human rights which are universal, inalienable and inseparable.

     Recommendations:

            • We urge the Federal minister of Information and communication to organize a national stakeholders               conference of the media workers; security agents to educate and enlighten the members of the Nigerian               security community that the members of the media are essential to the enthronement of durable               democracy in Nigeria;

            • We demand the setting up of a national commission of Judicial inquiry to investigate the different                allegations of physical  violence against Journalists, identify the culprits and prosecute them                inline with the principle of rule of law;

            • We demand compensations and treatment for the Daily Trust reporter Joseph Hir who was attacked in                Benue state recently;

            • We urge the Federal Government to stop paying lip service to the nation’s commitment to promote, and               protect the Human Rights of Nigerians, and;

            • We urge the Federal Government to pursue the amendments to the enabling law to grant autonomy to               the National  Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and to immediately re-constitute the body’s               governing council in compliance with the extant enabling Act so as to play the institutional role of               protecting the human rights of Nigerians.

Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) is a registered Non-Governmental, Non Religious and Non Political Oriented Association of Nigerian Creative Writers, Philosophers, Journalists and Humane Thinkers dedicated to deploying their creative talents to promote and protect the Human Rights of Nigerians and good Governance through constructive dialogues and media of Mass communication.

The target Audience of the Association includes: Assisting the indigent and other vulnerable groups in the society. Please join us to project these good ideals for the betterment of the Nigerian Society by becoming a better corporate citizen and by promoting the cause of Human rights.

       Our objectives are;

                *  To deploy the members’ creative talents as writers to promote, protect and project the human rights                     of all Nigerians and other law abiding citizens resident within Nigeria;

                *  To organize periodic seminars and training workshops locally for human capital development                      specifically on the tenets and ideals of Human Rights and the rule of Law;

                *  To attend International Workshops and Seminars targeted at the promotion and protection of human                     rights;

                *  To conduct periodic studies on ways, means and strategies for promoting and protecting human                      rights of law abiding citizens;

                *  To highlight human rights challenges confronting the persons in conflict with the law and seek for                     constructive modalities for redressing such violations; and

                *  To recognize excellence and good governance standards in the polity through yearly award                      ceremonies for exceptionally good, tested and trusted leaders in both the corporate and                      public sectors. The process of selection  would be by transparent mass participation strategies.

While awaiting your response, be assured of our highest esteem and consideration.

EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO
NATIONAL COORDINATOR.                                                   Read more