The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has tasked Federal and State Governments and security forces to provide adequate protection for journalists in the governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States.
MRA reiterated that journalists have a unique role in the process by providing information about the electoral process, which is critical in ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections.
In a statement issued on Friday in Lagos by MRA’s Communication Officer, Idowu Adewale, urged journalists to be safety conscious and to utilize its existing hotline in reporting any threat or attack that they may experience throughout the process as well as any obstacle or challenge to their effective coverage of the elections.
The statement reads: “Given the pattern of heightened attacks on journalists and the media during previous elections, including the recent 2023 general elections, as well as the tense political climate in the three states in the lead-up to the elections, measures must be taken to ensure general security during the elections and provide adequate protection for journalists covering the elections.”
“Access to information enables citizens and other members of the public to have the information they need about political and electoral processes and facilitates effective public participation in elections. Journalists and the media play a big part in ensuring that the public can access information and participate in the process. Therefore, the safety and well-being of these interlocutors must be assured and safeguarded as part of efforts to ensure the integrity of the elections.”
Adewale explained that MRA’s existing hotline, established before the 2023 general elections early in the year, remains available to journalists who may face challenges, including harassment, intimidation, or violence, as they carry out their professional duties.
He added that by reporting such incidents through the hotline, MRA would be able to document them and render a range of support services, including providing advice to journalists about their legal rights or available official mechanisms at domestic, regional, or international levels for seeking redress; providing legal assistance; and, in appropriate cases, launching campaigns on their circumstances.
Lamenting the increasing attacks on journalists during elections, he stressed, “A free and vibrant media is fundamental to a healthy democracy and that journalists must be able to carry out their duties without fear, coercion, or violence. MRA is ready to support them and ensure their safety during this critical period.”
He urged media organisations, civil society, and the general public to remain vigilant and report attacks or harassment against journalists, insisting, “By doing so, we can collectively promote a safe environment for journalists to carry out their duties and contribute to the democratic process.”
