SECTOR 1 1.10 Civil society in general and media lobby groups actively advance the cause of media freedom Nigeria has a vibrant civic space, working collectively and individually. Among the most prominent civil society groups are the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Media Rights Agenda, Institute for Media and Society, the International Press Centre and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. Other organisations that promote media causes include the Social and Economic Rights Centre, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Right to Know and the Policy Alert and Paradigm Initiative. Panellists cited the 2011 passing of the FOI Act as one example of successful media rights activism and collaboration between organisations with different vocations to promote media freedom causes in the country. Media and nonmedia organisations have also rallied to shut down controversial bills, such as a recent attempt to pass an NGO Act and a Social Media Act that were all deemed restrictive; and have sometimes taken to the streets to protest arrests and other forms of harassment suffered by journalists. One panellist explained why the collaboration is strong: NGO’s rely on the media to advance their different causes and meet the organisational objective. It is thus in their best interest to ensure that the media is free. They understand that injury to one, is an injury to all. Proactive and reactive support for media causes is quite evident. Whilst collective actions tend to be more prominent, organisations sometimes undertake individual actions that are less visible but contribute to promoting free media. An example is the media capacity development work by organisations such as the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the European Union, the British Council and other foreign public and non-governmental organisations. Some panellists said despite clear examples of civil society participation in advancing media causes, such actions are often limited in scope. For example, massive mobilisation followed the withdrawal of the broadcasting licence of the Africa International Television in 2019, but not the several arrests of Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo, a blogger, social media personality and self-styled activist against gun violence. Panellists explained that media rights advocates select their fights carefully and therefore hesitate to rally behind controversial journalists or other media personalities. Media organisations and other groups, the panellists said, were more willing to rally behind legislation and policy issues than dabble in the personal woes of individual journalists. 19 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NIGERIA 2019