The FCT Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has urged President Bola Tinubu to unveil his administration’s plans for ensuring the safety and protection of media practitioners in Nigeria. Highlighting the toxic and hostile conditions under which Nigerian journalists have been operating, the Chapel condemned the situation as absurd, ridiculous, and unacceptable.

This call to action was made in a statement released in Abuja, co-signed by Comrade Jide Oyekunle, chairman of FCT Correspondents Chapel, and Raphael Oni, the secretary, in commemoration of this year’s World Press Freedom Day.

“Today, we join the rest of the world in marking World Press Freedom Day. It is imperative to remind the Nigerian government of its legal obligation to defend and protect the fundamental rights of its people, including press freedom and freedom of expression as guaranteed by Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the statement read.

The Chapel noted that the media environment is increasingly becoming restrictive, hostile, and stifling due to the intolerance of some government officials towards criticism and dissent.

“We call on President Bola Tinubu to clearly outline comprehensive safety measures and mechanisms for Nigerian journalists and media workers, enabling them to perform their essential and constitutional role in democracy. Journalists in Nigeria face significant risks, including harassment, intimidation, and physical attacks while carrying out their statutory duties.”

The NUJ demanded concrete steps from the government to ensure the protection of journalists and to hold accountable those who have attacked journalists and infringed on press freedom.

“We demand that those who have attacked journalists in the past and infringed on press freedom are brought to justice immediately. We demand accountability from the government and security agents in Nigeria. Security operatives who act with impunity and disregard democratic tenets and values should face the full wrath of the law,” the statement concluded.