Nigeria has recorded the highest number of threats to press freedom in Africa, according to a monthly report by the International Press Institute, (IPI).
The August report noted that dozens of journalists in Nigeria were either assaulted, detained or denied access to protest sites during the 10-day #EndBadGovernance protest in the month.
“The cases in Nigeria included the detention of journalist Jide Oyekunle in Abuja while he was covering the protest. Police also seized his mobile phone. The police also brutalized journalist Olukayode Jayeola of The PUNCH Newspaper and detained him at Eagle Square in Abuja where he was covering the protests.
“In Kano, hoodlums attacked several journalists covering the protest in the capital city of Kano State in the north of Nigeria. In Borno State, nine Radio Ndarason Internationale journalists and media workers were arrested by security officials in Maiduguri as they were reporting the protests,” it read.
The IPI noted 64 press freedom violations across 16 sub-Saharan African countries, with Nigeria accounting for the most incidents. State actors were responsible for over 80% of these violations, which included physical attacks, arrests, and surveillance.
Nigeria recorded 30 incidents, followed by Somalia with 7 while DRC and Mozambique recorded 5 each.
The report noted that male journalists were the primary targets, with over 111 cases, while female journalists faced 17 violations.
