The International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria will hold its 2025 Annual Conference and General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja against the backdrop of Nigeria’s worsening press-freedom record, which has become a major source of concern among media professionals.
Nigeria dropped 10 places in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), ranking 122nd globally—down from 112th in 2024. The decline is expected to shape the tone of deliberations when members gather on 2 and 3 December in the Federal Capital Territory.
According to organisers, this year’s programme was deliberately structured around the country’s deteriorating media environment and the rising risks faced by journalists.
The opening session on 2 December will feature a keynote paper titled “Addressing Media Repression in Nigeria: Safeguarding Press Freedom and Democratic Accountability,” to be delivered by the executive director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Edetaen Ojo. The session will be moderated by Busola Ajibola, deputy director at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), with a panel comprising the executive director of the International Press Centre, Lanre Arogundade; Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin; and Special Adviser at the Office of the National Security Adviser, Idayat Hassan.
A second paper, “Building Sustainable Media in Nigeria: Navigating Innovation, Credibility, and Revenue Challenges,” will be delivered by the President/CEO of CBD MediaEdge Communications and co-founder of Media Trust Limited, Isiaq Ajibola. The discussion will be followed by a panel featuring Channels Television Vice-Chair, Olusola Momoh; Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP, Azu Ishiekwene; Nigeria Director of the MacArthur Foundation, Kole Shettima; and the publisher of The Point, Yemi Kolapo. Professor Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika of the University of Lagos will moderate the session.
Highlights of the first day also include the unveiling of a Book of Infamy by Baze University scholar, Professor Abiodun Adeniyi, while IPI Nigeria President, Musikilu Mojeed, will lead a special honorary session.
The AGM scheduled for 3 December will be a closed-door event where members will undertake a deeper examination of the threats confronting journalists.
RSF’s 2025 index describes Nigeria as “one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in West Africa,” noting that electoral cycles and national protests routinely trigger violence against reporters. In August 2024 alone, nearly 30 journalists were assaulted, arrested, or hit with tear gas or gunfire while covering mass demonstrations.
The report also highlights a persistent pattern of impunity, stating that crimes against journalists continue “with almost no state mechanism for protection,” while authorities routinely place investigative journalists under surveillance and detain them arbitrarily.
Vice President Kashim Shettima is expected to chair the conference, with the Minister of Information and National Orientation scheduled to deliver a special remark.
Other high-profile guests include the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi; former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; former presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu; and former State Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Lawal Kazaure.
The Executive Director of IPI Global, Scott Grifen, will deliver a solidarity message, while former Ogun State governor and veteran journalist, Olusegun Osoba, is also expected.
Leaders of Nigeria’s major media bodies invited to the event include Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru (NPAN), Eze Anaba (NGE), Danlami Nmodu (GOCOP) and Alhassan Yahya Abdul (NUJ). Heads of government media agencies, including the NOA, VON, FRCN, NTA and NAN, are scheduled to attend.
A long list of media scholars and senior practitioners have also been invited, among them former NIJ Provost Gbemiga Ogunleye; IPI Global Board member Raheem Adedoyin; former Champion MD Emma Agu; former Tribune executive Folu Olamiti; former Punch editor Najeem Jimoh; PRNigeria publisher Yushau Shuaib; Professor Tunde Akanni of Lagos State University; and Associate Professor Sule Yau Sule of Bayero University, Kano.
