By Adewale Kupoluyi
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In what has been described as an assault on press freedom in Nigeria, the regional office of the Daily Trust newspapers in Maiduguri, Borno State was invaded by soldiers over a publication. The Daily Editor of the paper, Nasiru Abubakar, who confirmed the development, said that the Regional Editor, Uthman Abubakar and a reporter Ibrahim Sawab were initially arrested by military officers.

Defending its action, the army said it took the step in the interest of national security, alleging that the newspaper published stories that undermined the ongoing insurgency war. The explanation by the military is simply that the media outfit breached the existing legislation on security in its reportage of troops’ operations against Boko Haram. Before the onslaught, Daily Trust had earlier reported that the Nigerian military had assembled thousands of troops and equipment in preparation for a massive operation to retake North-East towns of Baga and others in Borno State from the grip of Boko Haram terrorists. The newspaper said it learnt that all the three arms of the nation’s army, navy and the air forces would be involved in the major offensive to flush out the insurgents from the areas they had firmly captured.

The spokesman of Nigerian Army, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman had insisted that the disclosure of classified security information amounted to a breach of national security and ran contrary to Sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act of 1962, adding that the publication afforded the Boko Haram terrorists prior notice of plans and an early warning to prepare against the Nigerian military by sabotaging the planned operations and putting the lives of troops on imminent danger.

“We would like to state that the invitation of those responsible for divulging military plans was done with the best of intention in order to make them realise the import of such acts to our national security. We would not tolerate a situation where a publication would consistently side with terrorists and undermine our national institutions. We would like to further assure that the invitation is for further investigation and if need be, all those culpable of jeopardising operations security will be prosecuted by the relevant law enforcement agency”, he added.

No doubt, the killing, maiming and harassments of journalists have remained a big issue across many countries. Rather than seeing journalists as partners in progress by virtue of their unique role in facilitating the media’s agenda-setting role and as the Fourth Estate of the Realm in fostering accountability, transparency and good governance in the society, journalists are treated with great suspicion. Reflecting this hostility, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that in 2017, there were 42 outstanding and unsolved killings of journalists in the Philippines alone while in countries like Russia, 38 journalists had been murdered since 1992 and  many of those death remain unsolved.

Worldwide, those who control state power as well as powerful men of the underworld are known to order the killing, maiming and jailing of journalists in the course of doing their job and trying to expose corruption, fraud and other illegalities committed against the people and the state. A quick reminder that, apart from the traditional role of educating, entertaining and informative, the media is constitutionally empowered to perform specific and vital functions, as captured under Section 22 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended), which provides that the press, radio, television and other agencies of mass media would at all times, be free to uphold responsibility and accountability on the part of the government to the people.

By this role, the press serves as a watchdog of government actions and inactions as it relates to governance, transparency and accountability. This sacred duty ensures that there is freedom of expression and of the press. When such attacks are targeted at journalists, the assailants are hardly ever brought to justice; it is often seen as part of the dangers linked with the job, apart from the poor remuneration and the high risk associated with journalistic practice, hence, the renewed call for adequate insurance cover for media personnel.

Recently, the Saudi Arabian journalist, Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, last year. Reliable evidence suggests that it was an orchestrated murder that saw the arrival of 15 hatchet men at the Turkey’s airport from Saudi Arabia on the day he was killed. It is widely believed that Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, a major critic of the fearless journalist could have ordered the high profile murder of the innocent man. Khashoggi’s death is another sad reminder of the fact that journalists are endangered species and victims of human rights abuse.

Many individual and corporate organisations have already condemned the military action and assault on the Daily Trustjournalists. In a letter sent to the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the International Press Institute (IPI) had described the arrest of journalists and siege of the newspaper’s offices in Maiduguri and Abuja as an attack on media and freedom of expression in the country.

“The authorities have provided no evidence that the information published by the Daily Trust would endanger military lives or the security of military operations to an extent that would outweigh the freedom and responsibility of any independent newspaper to inform readers of significant developments of public interest, of which the Nigerian government’s response to the activities of terrorist organisations is undoubtedly one,” says the IPI’s Executive Director, Ms. Barbara Trionfi, who blamed army’s actions as inappropriate, disproportionate and appear to constitute an attempt to silence independent media in the country.

From the unconvincing excuse given by the military, many Nigerians are of the opinion that the attack was simply an attempt to silence the press. Not only that, it is a way of showing military brutality; a common feature by overzealous military personnel against hapless civilians in the country. They are often found brutalising civilians. This disposition is not acceptable under democratic rule and they should be called to order. To avoid a repeat, those found guilty in the raid should be punished, so as, to serve as deterrent to others. Furthermore, the working tools seized by the military should be released to the newspaper without further delay. In addition, the Nigerian Army should tender an official apology to the management of Daily Trust for the misadventure. Journalists should  always be protected, appreciated and accorded due respect in the society.