Amnesty International, a global human rights advocacy group, has called out the President Bola Tinubu-led administration for denying 25 journalists’ credentials to cover the Aso Villa.
The rights organization claimed that the development is currently a significant blow to press freedom in the nation.
According to Gistlover, Amnesty International claimed that the Bola Tinubu Presidency had removed the accreditation tags of about 25 journalists and media organizations from covering the events at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on August 18, 2023, citing ambiguous “security concerns and overcrowding of the press gallery area.”
Media freedom, media diversity, and the protection of journalists are crucial components of the effective exercise of freedom of expression, according to a statement made by Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
Sanusi said, “The media has a role and responsibility to convey information and ideas on matters of public interest and to make sure that the public has a right and the possibility to receive them.
“Nigeria is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantee the right to freedom of expression and impose legal obligations on states to protect freedom of expression and information.
“The Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] also guarantees the right to freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.
“Authorities should encourage and promote the enjoyment of human rights, including freedom of expression and media freedom, rather than restricting them.
“The arbitrary revocation of the journalists’ accreditations is inconsistent and incompatible with Nigeria’s international and constitutional human rights obligations and commitments.”
This platform understands that the affected include those from Vanguard newspaper; Galaxy TV; Ben TV; MITV; ITV Abuja; PromptNews, ONTV, and Liberty. Other media personnel affected by the withdrawal are mostly reporters and cameramen from broadcast, print, and online media outlets.
