Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to further protect the freedom of the press in Nigeria.
Olu Omotayo Esq, president of the network, made the appeal in a letter addressed to the president made available to Ikengaonline in Enugu.
The rights group said that the decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to seek redress in respect of a publication by the Daily Trust Newspaper on the signing of Samoa Agreement was laudable.
It said that the government’s action was in line with what obtained in a democracy where the Constitutional Right of Freedom of the Press is guaranteed.
“We are not looking at the merits of the case at this stage but it shows sincere respect for the freedom of the press by the Federal Government whose actions through its security agencies in the recent past have been that of a brutal attack on the Freedom of the Press.
“With this fundamental development, it became worrisome that in the last one year of this administration the Nigeria Police have had to harass and detain several journalists, bloggers and social media commentators under the guise of enforcing the provisions of Cybercrime (Prohibition ,Prevention) Act 2015 (As Amended).
“A report by a national daily on July 1st 2024, stated that at least 10 journalist have been arrested in the past one year, some of them from the Foundation of Investigative Journalism (FIJ), The Whistler Newspaper and First News Online and other media,” Omotayo said.
CRRAN further noted that despite the presidential assent to the recently amended Cybercrime (Prohibition ,Prevention) Act 2015 (As Amended), wherein revisions were carried out on some sections of the Act relating to criminalising online expression, the arrest of online media practitioners and bloggers had continued unabated.
“The Presidency should find a way to curtail the excesses of the Police in this regard,” the group said.
According to the rights group, the Police cannot be operating a policy or operation contrary to the policy of the government of the day in this regard.
“The hallmark of democracy is the respect for the fundamental rights of citizens by the government and her agencies.
“We urge the Presidency to critically look at the way the Police are enforcing The Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act 2015 (As Amended), to the detriment of the citizens,” Omotayo said.
