SECTOR 1 growth of private broadcasting has overshadowed the measured reporting of federal and state-owned news media, which by their very nature are designed to serve the narrow political interests of those in power. ‘Journalists and media have been asserting their [through the courts] rights and winning,’ said one panellist. For example, a 2015 ruling by the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Community Court of Justice stopped attempts by the authorities to censor political programmes through a new directive that required radio stations and television channels to give the NBC 24-hours-notice of live political programmes. The court, basing its ruling on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Universal Declarations on Human Rights, said the directive was an infringement on freedom of the media.2 In March 2019, a court in Akwa Ibom threw out criminal defamation charges against journalist and editor John Nsibiet, arrested in January 2017 for alleging that the State Deputy Governor Moses Ekpo had embezzled some N250 million (US$691,775) in monthly security votes from the state government. However, Nigerians continue to face threats for expressing themselves. Panellists described instances where citizens and journalists have been harassed for what they said or did to express themselves. Examples emerging from the panel discussions included a comedian “chased down” for publishing political satire, to journalism students reprimanded for reporting power outages on campus radios, to well-known investigative journalists arrested for reporting about corruption and abuse of power. Some harassment receives more publicity than others. Others gain international infamy. According to panellists, the editor of the Weekly Source Jones Abiri was in and out of police custody between 2016 and 2019. In May 2019, after he was again arrested and this time charged with crimes under anti-terrorism, cybercrime and anti-sabotage laws, a senior official of the Committee to Protect Journalists said it ‘[showcased] once again the brazen willingness of the Nigerian government to intimidate and harass the press’.3 Panellists said both the federal and state governments try to instigate fear among citizens and journalists. In their view, state-authorities have been particularly unrelenting in using state security apparatus to muzzle critical media and make it hard for citizens and journalists to speak openly. Some panellists saw a new plan to criminalise hate speech as a disguised attempt to clamp down on the right to freedom of expression. Nigeria’s longstanding problem of interethnic and interreligious violence also creates a chilling effect. Citizens and journalists, panellists described, are increasingly concerned that their words and actions could ignite violent backlashes from certain groups. ‘When reporting terrorism in the north-east,’ one panellist said, ‘journalists are careful about what they say or fail to say.’ Scores: 2 3 Oguche vs National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). ECW/CCJ/APP/1015. Committee to Protect Journalists. Available online at: www. cpj.org/2019/05/nigeria-charges-jones-abiri-weekly-sourceterrorism.php. 10 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NIGERIA 2019