NIGERIA

Country Summary

Gen. Sani Abacha escalated his brutal tactics aimed at decimating the independent press and driving journalists out of their profession or into exile. The incommunicado detention without charge of Tell editor Nosa Igiebor, TheNEWS editor Bayo Onanuga, media attorney Gani Fawehinmi, and numerous other media professionals and their legal representatives paled in comparison with the assassination in broad daylight of Kudirat Abiola, wife of publisher and President-elect Moshood Abiola, and the attempted assassination of Alex Ibru, publisher of The Guardian.

The year saw a rash of detentions of independent journalists--all without charge--in connection with articles that were critical of the military regime and its officials. Journalists were under constant pressure to name their sources, but chose to face indefinite prison stays rather than provide information to State Security Service (SSS) agents or their interrogators.

A number of purportedly privately owned publications came into existence, under the leadership of individuals with no previous media experience who are unknown to the country’s media professionals. The financing for many of these publications is believed to come from individuals connected to Gen. Abacha’s regime.

The year ended with a number of arrests of editors and correspondents employed by the independent press and the announcement of the establishment of a press court, a separate court with a mandate to function solely for the purpose of prosecuting journalists and media professionals. Additional restrictions in the form of a media council, a body of six presidential appointees who manage the annual printed press registration process, was instituted by Decree 43. Among the list of requirements for registration are a pre-registration deposit of 250,000 naira (US$3,100) and a non-refundable fee of 100,000 naira (US$1,240), and evidence concerning the good character, competence, and integrity of the directors and of other persons responsible for or in charge of the publication of newspapers or magazines. License renewal is contingent upon the media council’s satisfaction with the publication’s performance.

CPJ, through its international campaign, “Nigeria: The Press Under Siege,” worked closely with Lagos-based journalists to secure the June release of Igiebor, and the subsequent release of Onanuga and Fawehinmi, and continues to spotlight attention on the crisis facing Nigeria’s independent press.

For more information contact africaweb@cpj.org