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Nigeria: Newspaper Sued, Threatened Over Critical Publication

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Nigeria: Newspaper Sued, Threatened Over Critical Publication

A charity group, Al Bashar International Foundation based in Bauchi State, Nigeria, has sued the WikkiTimes Media Limited and three others for defamation over a news story.

Wikkitimes.com, an online news website operated by Haruna Mohammed Salisu, on January 18, 2021, published reports that alleged the Makkah Eye Clinic, which is operated by the Al Bashar International Foundation, was maltreating patients, charging exorbitant fees, evading taxes among others.

The reports said the management of the clinic had deviated from their charity mission and resorted to charging clients three times the amount pertaining in other eye clinics of similar standards which are commercial.

Dismissing the publication as false, Al Bashar International Foundation sued WikkiTimes, its publisher, Haruna Mohammed Salisu and a reporter, Kamal Idris to court. A former employee of the Foundation, Omar Faruk, was also sued on suspicion of passing off information to WikkiTimes.

While the Defendants interviewed the Manager of the Clinic and reported his responses in its publications, the plaintiffs insist that the newspaper misrepresented him in its publications, adding that picture of the Manager that accompanied the stories were sourced without permission.

Haruna Mohammed Salisu told MFWA the management of the clinic had privately admitted that some of the allegations made against them in WikkiTimes publication were true, hence he was surprised at their sudden change of attitude.

“After the thorough investigation that took me about two months to finish, I confronted the management of the hospital with my findings; they conceded to most of the allegations raised and told me that they were making effort to address them,” Salisu told MFWA. “After we have gone to press with our story, the management of the hospital said we have defamed them, they approached the court, which should decide whether the publication was defamatory or not.”

According to the writ filed at the High Court in Bauchi State on March 18, 2021, of which the MFWA has seen a copy, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that there was a “deliberate act of publication of falsehood by the Defendants on the 18th day of January 2021 aimed at denting the good name and image of the plaintiff is a defamation of character.”

They are also seeking an order from the court to compel the defendants to delete the publications and offer apologies.

The Plaintiffs are also requesting the sum of One Billion Naira (about USD 2.6 million) as pecuniary /exemplary damages, general damages in the sum of One Hundred Million Naira (about USD 260,460) for the inconveniences and trauma suffered as a result of the publication and Two Million Naira (about USD 5,223) as costs.

Meanwhile, Haruna Mohammed Salisu, who is the publisher and Editor in Chief of WikkiTimes, has been threatened by the Plaintiffs.

Salisu disclosed that the threat was contained in a letter sent to his office by someone from Makkah Eye Clinic.

“We thought after suing you and your web page, you will reach out to us for reconciliation, but you adamant [sic]to continue the case”, read part of a handwritten letter apparently pushed under the door to the publisher’s office.

“We know where to get you, even if we didn’t win the case. We know your house we know your family members and we know all movements,” the letter further threatened.

Salisu told MFWA he had reported the threats to the police and they have indicated they are investigating the matter. “I was invited on March 23 to make a statement in addition to the earlier statement made by my lawyer,” he said.

The MFWA condemns the threat on the publishers of the online newspaper and call on the police to investigate it thoroughly to bring the perpetrators to book. We encourage the staff of Wikkitimes to take precautions and urge the security agencies to take steps to secure the premises and personnel of the media outlet against any harm or threat.

Meanwhile, the MFWA under its project, “Enhancing Freedom of Expression Online in West Africa through Monitoring, Research and Support for Legal Defence,” being implemented with funding support from the Media Legal Defence Initiative has provided support for legal defence to the Haruna Mohammed Salisu, Wikki Times and Reporter, Kamal Idris.

Authorities in Chad Must Refrain from Repetitive Internet Disruptions during Elections

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Authorities in Chad Must Refrain from Repetitive Internet Disruptions during Elections

Ahead of the Presidential elections campaigning in Chad, the authorities disrupted the internet on February 28, 2021, and attempted to restrict access to social media. This is yet, another unwarranted violation of freedom of expression online.

AFEX condemns this umpteenth internet shutdown in Chad which is headed for Presidential elections on April 11, 2021, and calls on the Chadian authorities to ensure that the internet is kept on before, during and after the elections.

Shutting down internet does not only violate people’s freedom of expression and access to information does not only damage the economy of the country concerned but also adds to the hardship of millions of people who depend on the internet for their daily activities.

The disruption of access to social media such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube in Chad is not the first time.

Before the internet shutdown on February 28, the opposition parties in the country led a nationwide demonstration last week to protest against President Idriss Deby Itno’s bid for a fifth term in office. According to media reportage the opposition demonstration was largely successfully as shops, schools and businesses shut down, and traffic was empty.

Between 2018 and 2019, authorities in Chad restricted access to internet and social media for at least 470 days. The government cited “security reasons” in an attempt to justify the disruptions.

Also, journalists in Chad work under fear, and usually self-censor, anxiously avoiding open criticism of the government and close collaborators of President Idriss Deby Itno. Criticism of states officials by media houses often lead to the closure of the media outlets. Journalists are often the target of attacks, brutal aggression, and arrest and detention by security forces.

For instance, on November 27, 2020, the security forces descended on the office of Visionnaire Media Group and Radio FM Liberté in N’Djamena.

At least 70 people, including 20 journalists were arrested while attending a media training in the premises of Radio FM Liberté. The journalists were detained for several hours and released without a charge.

Chad under President Idriss Déby Itno, who seized power in 1990, has held five elections without power transition. President Itno is running for a sixth term on the ticket of Patriotic Salvation Movement party. Twenty-three other candidates have submitted their applications to contest in the presidential election, according to the national election commission.

Several political analysts have said that with a shrinking civic space, the scheduled April 11, elections seem to be a ceremonial one, a façade electoral process that is likely to end up with the renewal of President Itno’s mandate.

AFEX considers the internet shutdown as unnecessary and a bad step especially in this era of pandemic where access to internet has proved fundamental in keeping people in touch and businesses on course. Resorting to internet shutdown to quell public protests and socio-political agitation smack of reckless disregard for citizens’ welfare.

Shutting down the internet and blocking access to social media ahead of the electioneering campaigns further compromises people’s abilities to make informed decisions and to participate in public discourse. Again elections-related internet shutdowns deprive journalists of access to sources of information, and casts doubt on the transparency and credibility of the electoral process.

Consequently, AFEX members urge the authorities in Chad to keep the internet on before, during and after the elections.

AFEX is also calling on the Chadian authorities and the security forces to ensure the safety and protection of media and journalists doing their work of public information, as constitutionally mandated and in accordance with the several regional and international treaties ratified by Chad.

DRC: Journalist Detained by the Public Prosecutor’s Office

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DRC: Journalist Detained by the Public Prosecutor’s Office

Journalist in Danger (JED) demands the immediate and unconditional release of the journalist who has been detained for four days in Mbandaka, the capital town of the Equateur province. He was accused of “harmful report” following a complaint lodged against him by a provincial parliamentarian.

According to our sources, Christophe Yoka Nkumu, a journalist with Radio Liberté Bikoro, a station broadcasting in Bikoro, a territory located 128 km from Mbandaka, capital of Equateur province (north-western DR Congo), was arrested on 22 February 2021 by some elements of the public prosecutor’s office, upon a warrant.

The journalist was taken to the Bikoro police station where he was detained overnight before being transferred the next day to Mbandaka where he is being held in the prosecutor’s cell.

On January 16, 2021, Yoka Nkumu was prosecuted for having denounced the provincial governor. The journalist alleged that the governor has hijacked a jeep from the Bikoro health zone and its purchase by Mr. Djimy Nkumu, a provincial parliamentarian of Ecuador.

Journalist in Danger (JED) is calling on the head of the Mbandaka public prosecutor’s office to order the immediate release of the journalist and drop all charges against him.

Annual Internet Rights Report 2020

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Annual Internet Rights Report 2020

The Internet has become a pivotal communication medium across all sectors of life, business, bank, education, governance, and politics, just to name a few. This has been highlighted in 2020, as the pandemic spread. Access and the use of the internet has changed our lifestyles and the mode of governance. As the COVID-19 was causing havoc, countries across the continent adopted emergency measures.

Some simply enacted laws that trampled on freedom of expression. Others revamped existing crippling cybersecurity laws. In legal actions attempted by the government to stifle dissidents, courts evoked and abusively interpreted, and applied repressive articles to dissidents.

Journalists and media workers were, in some countries defined as part of frontlines workers, and were exempted from lockdowns protocols. While in some countries, journalists were not only denied access to information but were victims of attacks, brutalities, arrests, and detentions, for merely seeking to bring vital information to the public.

Authorities tightened control on the circulation of information online, with some passing internet-related legislation as part of their fight against fake news about the pandemic. The publication of fake news has been criminalized, thus compromising the rights to freedom of expression online, and on social media.

During the year 2020, several journalists and citizens bore the brunt of the fight against the spread of the pandemic and fake news. Many media houses and journalists felt the fury and brutalities of law enforcement agents. Across the continent, the enforcement of COVID-19 law was diversely and paradoxically applied, and this was at the expense of freedom of expression online.

The 2020 AFEX Annual Report on the State of Internet in Africa, covers 13 countries- Botswana, Cameroon, DRC, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The report gives a brief overview of the country’s democratic background and landscape, highlights internet freedom-related incidents, policies, and development that took place during the year under review. Click here to read the full report.

How the COVID-19 Fight Has Hurt Digital Rights in East Africa

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How the COVID-19 Fight Has Hurt Digital Rights in East Africa

By Paul Kimumwe, Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA). 

The fight against the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda has dealt a blow to the promotion and preservation of human rights in the region. The outbreak of Covid-19 could not have come at a worse time, as the countries were preparing for their respective general elections (October 2020 for Tanzania, January 2021 for  Uganda, and a potential referendum in 2021 and the August 2022 elections in Kenya).

Even before confirmation of Covid-19 cases in the region, the three East African countries had instituted Covid-19 mitigation measures, including the adoption of statutory instruments which quickly suspended constitutional guarantees without reasonable justification or meaningful stakeholder consultation. The measures were accompanied with a problematic onslaught on the media, the political opposition and ordinary citizens, which undermined the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, and the right to access a variety of news and information, which was critical to informed decision-making particularly during electoral processes.

On March 18, 2020, Uganda instituted its first set of measures that included the closure of schools and a ban on all political, religious, and social gatherings. A week after the March 22, 2020 confirmation of the first case in the country, the Ministry of Health issued the Public Health (Control of Covid-19) (No. 2) Rules, 2020 that introduced further restrictions including a dusk-to-dawn curfew, the closure of institutions of learning and places of worship, the suspension of public gatherings, a ban on public transport and the closure of the country’s borders and the international airport to passenger traffic.

In Kenya, the government introduced several measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 that included the suspension of public gatherings and other social distancing requirements; limitation of travel into and outside the country; imposition of a dusk-to-dawn curfew under the Public Order Act, 2003; as well as inter-county travel bans between the capital, Nairobi, and three other high-risk counties of Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale.

A day after the government confirmed its first coronavirus case, Tanzania introduced a series of measures that included the closure of schools and the suspension of sports events on March 17, 2020. Additional directives, including quarantining travelers from countries with confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the travelers’ own cost, were announced by President Pombe Magufuli.

While many of the restrictions such as the closure of international borders, schools and churches and prohibitions on public gatherings have since been relaxed, the long-term impact of these and other restrictions persist.

In this brief, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) researched Covid-19 related censorship and surveillance practices and related regulatory responses      in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda      that affected peoples’ digital rights, including the right to freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy. It shows that the different measures adopted by the three countries, including enactment and enforcement of repressive laws on misinformation/fake news, as well as intimidation, arrests, detentions, and suspension of media operations, have led to an erosion of civil liberties online and offline.

The brief recommends the amendment of all the Covid-19 legislation that restricts freedoms to bring it into conformity with international standards on the right to privacy, data collection and processing as well as freedom of expression and access to information. Further, it urges governments to improve the affordability of the internet by more citizens, ensure the respect of citizens’ rights; and be transparent, and accountable in the conduct of Covid-19 related data collection and surveillance.

AFEX Condemns Military Brutality Against Journalists in Uganda

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AFEX Condemns Military Brutality Against Journalists in Uganda

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) condemns the brutal attack by the Ugandan military on journalists and calls for immediate investigations and punishment for the officers involved.

The incident happened on February 17, 2020, when former presidential candidate, Robert Kyagunlanyi Ssentamu’s popularly known as Bobi Wine, and his party officials were going to the UN Office in Kampala to submit a petition about the “continuing abductions, torture and murder” of his supporters.

According to sources, when they got to the UN office, military officers were stationed near the entrance of the building and started attacking everyone, including journalists who were covering the event and were identifiable, and recognizable by their equipment and badges.

The officers reportedly assaulted at least twenty journalists and injured several others including four journalists who sustained severe head injuries.

“The journalists were doing their duty and they were clearly identifiable as journalists; they were not hostile, they were politely covering the events,” said Stephen Bwire of the Uganda Journalists Union.

Among the brutalized journalists, were Geoffrey Twesigye of NTV, Irene Abalo of Daily Monitor, Shamim Nabakooza of Record TV, John Cliff Wamala of NTV, and Timothy Murungi of New Vision.

Rashida Nakaayi of Galaxy FM, Josephine Namakumbi of NBS TV, Henry Sekanjako of New Vision, Joseph Sabiti of NBS, and Thomas Kitimbo of NBS TV were all attacked.

Some of these journalists had their equipment damaged by the military officers.

These violations add to a tall list of violations on journalists in Uganda which have gone uninvestigated and no perpetrators brought to book.

AFEX condemns these recent attacks and other previous ones and calls on the Ugandan authorities to call the security agencies to order and ensure that the attacks on journalists are investigated and the necessary actions taken against the perpetrators. We also demand that the authorities demonstrate their commitment to press freedom in the country by putting an end to the security agencies’ brutalities on journalists.

GPU Begins Nationwide Sensitization on Access to Information, Media Self-regulation

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GPU Begins Nationwide Sensitization on Access to Information, Media Self-regulation

The Gambia Press Union, with support from the British Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, is implementing a project aimed at strengthening ongoing efforts at building national consensus on Access to Information (ATI) and media self-regulation.

The project seeks to address public misconceptions about ATI and media freedom and contributes to reform of laws, policies and practices to enable and ensure free flow of information and responsible journalism. Activities under this three-month project began on Monday, 8th February, 2021 with a nationwide sensitization tour on ATI and media self-regulation.

“The access to information bill was submitted to the National Assembly in December 2019, and we are hopeful that it will be passed into law soon,” GPU President, Sheriff Bojang Jr., said at the opening of the sensitisation tour in Banjul on Monday. “If this happens, it will be a great achievement for this country and citizens in our quest for democracy and progress.”

The seven-day nationwide tour is being facilitated by two teams from the CSO Coalition on ATI, with one team covering regions in the provinces while the other team focuses on regions in urban Gambia – Banjul and West Coast Region. There will be two fora in each of the seven administrative regions of the country and participants will include area councillors, traditional women singers, youth representatives, and regional authorities.

John Charles Njie, Chairperson, CSO Coalition, said when a country is in transition, it needs a basis to move to the next stage. “And one of the foundations that we need as a country is to have an access to information law,” he said.

The Gambian process of developing the draft ATI bill started in 2016 with the GPU rallying more than 50 civil society organisations to ensure it was inclusive, and today, a CSO Coalition on Access to Information is the face and force behind the bill.

British High Commissioner to Banjul, David Belgrove, said an access to information law is a very powerful tool; it is one that is essential in any democracy.

“Any public body should be accountable to the people, and that’s not just media, it is not just civil society, individuals as well. This is a very important step in consolidating the Gambia’s democracy which your people struggled so hard to achieve,” he said in his keynote address on Monday. “Transparency is absolutely essential.”

The National Assembly Member for Banjul South, Fatoumatta Njie, said “it is an honour to be here [in Banjul] talking about a bill that is very close to my heart, because I do advocate for freedom of information and democracy.”

“Without an access to information law, you can’t hold your elected representatives accountable. Personally, I want public information requests be made available both in hard and soft copies,” Hon. Njie said.

MISA-Zimbabwe Calls for Inclusion of Journalists in COVID-19 Priority Vaccination Rollout

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MISA-Zimbabwe Calls for Inclusion of Journalists in COVID-19 Priority Vaccination Rollout

MISA Zimbabwe calls upon the government to prioritise and also include journalists among the first priority groups listed for the COVID-19 vaccination rollout programme.

Our request is informed by the fact that the media was declared an essential service in terms of Zimbabwe’s COVID-19 regulations.

Journalists, together with other essential priority groups, are frontline workers that need to be prioritised as well given the critical role they play in keeping the nation informed on developments and measures the government is taking to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

In any case, the media, by virtue of its fundamental and normative role of informing and educating, is key to the coverage of the immunisation rollout.

The media can, therefore, not be left out for later consideration as journalists will be reporting from the frontline as the country rolls out immunisation of the essential groups identified to receive the first jabs.

The government can work closely with the Zimbabwe Media Commission, media houses and media representative organisations on how best to implement the immunisation for journalists as they are a critical component of the sectors and groups that have been declared essential services.

Journalists are frontline workers that risk their lives as they collect and disseminate information hence the need to prioritise their health and safety.

Lessons can be drawn from Zambia, which through its Ministry of Health, recently announced that journalists would be among the first recipients of the COVID-19 vaccines when they arrive in that country.

Egypt: AFEX Welcomes Release of Journalist Mahmoud Hussein

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Egypt: AFEX Welcomes Release of Journalist Mahmoud Hussein

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX), welcomes the release of Al Jazeera journalist, Mahmoud Hussein, who was held in preventive detention since December 23, 2016, in Cairo, Egypt.

Hussein worked with the Doha-based Al Jazeera, an international media network, and was arrested on December 20, 2016, when he returned to Egypt after a family vacation. Upon his arrest, he was interrogated for several hours without a lawyer before being released. On December 23, 2020, he was rearrested. The Egyptian authorities only made this second arrest and detention publicly known two days later.

He was accused of publishing false information, spreading fake news, incitement against state institutions, and broadcasting false news to spread chaos. Hussein was so accused, simply because, the current Egyptian authorities perceive Al Jazeera; the media with whom Hussein worked as supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement that backed former President Mohamed Morsi. This movement is regarded as a terrorist organisation by the current government.

On May 23, 2019, a court ruled in favor of Hussein’s release. It however reversed the decision while additional charges were brought against the journalist. He was also deprived of legal assistance and interrogated without counsel.

Notwithstanding Hussein’s release, the stringent conditions under which he was freed is undermining his independence, freedom of movement, and his full rights as a journalist.

Since 2016, press freedom and freedom of expression landscape in Egypt have increasingly come under attack and is shrinking under the regime of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Several journalists have been arrested, tortured, and jailed.

An estimated 500 websites have been targeted by “draconian legislation” and bore the brunt of the anti-freedom of expression campaign embarked on by the current regime in Egypt.

Outspoken social media activists and several others have been jailed for criticizing the government or simply exercising their rights to free speech. Journalists are arrested and jailed for simply playing their constitutional mandated roles. All these attacks on the media, and social media users suggest a state-sanctioned clampdown on freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Therefore, while AFEX is delighted that the four-year-long detention of journalist Mahmoud Hussein has ended, we condemn his illegal detention and denounce the repressive and discriminatory measures imposed on him and the media in the country. AFEX also demands that the Egyptian authorities abandon all charges leveled against Hussein and other journalists and social media activists arrested and still in detention.

World Radio Day 2021: MFWA Applauds the Resilience, Versatility of Radio in the Face of COVID-19

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World Radio Day 2021: MFWA Applauds the Resilience, Versatility of Radio in the Face of COVID-19

The theme for this year’s World Radio Day – New World, New Radio – highlights and celebrates the significance and resilience of radio in remaining sustainable over time; adapting to new technologies and continually providing services to society in the face of a changing world.

In West Africa, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) acknowledges the crucial role of radio as the most accessible media platform and source of information to citizens, especially the vulnerable, literate/semi-literate and those in remote areas. Radio has enabled information dissemination, public education, citizens’ mobilisation, sensitization and awareness creation be it in the context of conflicts, disease outbreak, terrorists’ actions and even under oppressive regimes. Significantly, within the democratisation processes of the West Africa region, radio has provided spaces for public discourse/debates and civic engagements.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many radio newsrooms across the region evolved. Indeed, the media are faced with significant financial crisis due to advertising squeeze, less spending by media consumers and some repressive policies by governments exacerbating the already precarious sustainability crisis that confronts the region’s media. For example, in Mauritania, of the five private radio stations in the country, only one was able to stay afloat and broadcast in the whole of 2020 due to COVID-19 while in Guinea, several other journalists were laid off and other media outlets shutdown completely.

The MFWA, more importantly, applauds the resilience of radio stations in the region for adapting and developing innovative approaches to remain relevant and connected to their audiences. For instance, in Burkina Faso, WhatsApp was a major game changer. Radio stations relied on WhatsApp for newsroom meetings and decisions on topics for news programming and interviews and even for interactive programmes. In Senegal and Ghana, media organisations significantly relied the online app, ZOOM, to carry out newsroom meetings and conduct interviews. Old newsroom schedules and practices have been altered as many newsrooms run shift and allow their Journalists to file stories from home and send via mail to radio without having to go to the studio.

The growing cancellation of advertising contracts also saw many radio stations, last year, turning to the online space as a new revenue model. Senegal’s foremost private radio, SUD FM consciously boosted its online presence as part of its strategy to generate resources in the long term. According to Baye Omar, General Manager of Sud FM “the future is online and we are betting on YouTube. Now our interviews with high officials and main programmes are on YouTube. We are counting on it to generate revenues on the long term. This pandemic is offering an opportunity for radio stations go digital”.

The MFWA also commends the radio fraternity for developing new programmes focusing on COVID-19 and stepping up public education, sensitization and awareness on the pandemic. While fake news, mis/disinformation characterized COVID-19 especially on social media, several radio stations positioned themselves as a trusted and credible source of information on COVID-19. Radio enabled the vulnerable, less privileged, and citizens in remote areas citizens including the socially excluded to still access information in languages they could better understand to guide their decisions. In Ghana, for example, the MFWA’s partnership with Media Alliance against COVID-19 misinformation saw about 10 million Ghanaians reached with fact-checked information/reports to counter the fake news mis/disinformation on COVID-19. In Guinea Conakry, Radio Djigui and other radio stations in the country developed series of interactive programmes to specifically debunk false information on the pandemic.

As the world continues to battle the pandemic, the MFWA urges radio workers to strive at all times to remain professional in the discharge of their duties; remain committed to the fight against fake news dis/misinformation on COVID-19 and continue to be resolute in the enterprise of democratic governance which include holding duty bearers accountable, ensuring equitable distribution of resources and participatory governance.

Nigeria: IPC Urges Release of Kidnapped Journalist Chidiebere Onyia

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Nigeria: IPC Urges Release of Kidnapped Journalist Chidiebere Onyia

The International Press Centre (IPC) Lagos-Nigeria, is highly disturbed that yet another journalist has been kidnapped.

The abduction at gun-point of Chidebere Onyia, a reporter with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Port Harcourt zonal office was confirmed by officials of the Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in a statement today.

IPC is concerned about what is now becoming a pattern and hereby joins the Rivers NUJ, the family of the abducted journalist and all lovers of freedom to demand her unconditional release.

“It is a dangerous trend that we are being confronted with and everything must be done to ensure the safety of Mrs. Onyia who is equally a nursing mother”, said the Executive Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade.

IPC also calls on the security agencies to not only secure her freedom but ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended and brought to justice to serve as a deterrent to others who might be contemplating to target journalists.

Mindful of the general insecurity in the country, IPC hereby calls on the Federal and State Governments to take seriously the constitutional obligation imposed on them to guarantee the welfare and security of citizens.

In view of the earlier kidnap of Punch Journalist Okechukwu Nnodim in Abuja, IPC hereby enjoins all journalists in the country to always take safety precautions.

SGD:

Melody Lawal Program Officer/Safety Desk Officer IPC

melodyakinjiyan[@]ipcng.org

+2348132776441

Ghana: Soldiers, Vigilantes Assault Media Crew at Mining Site

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Ghana: Soldiers, Vigilantes Assault Media Crew at Mining Site

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemns the harassment and assault of a news crew from Kumasi-based LUV FM at a mining site at Manso in the mineral-rich Ashanti region of Ghana by a group of soldiers and private guards.

The crew had accompanied a government Environmental Sustainability Taskforce to report on illegal mining activities in the forest enclave on January 15, 2021.

Reporter Erastus Asare Donkor told the MFWA that the illegal miners called in some heavily-muscled men and military reinforcement to prevent his crew from filming activities at the mining settlement operated by private individuals under military and vigilante protection. He said one of the guards assaulted him and forcibly took the car keys from their driver. Another guard engaged the cameraman, Kofi Asare in a scuffle in a bid to seize his camera which got damaged in the process.

“The guards broke our windscreen and side mirrors. Owner of the site, Donald Entsuah ordered the military to delete all footage from our camera and our personal phones,” Erasmus also told myjoyonline.com, an online platform of the Multimedia Group which also operates LUV FM. He added that their phones were seized and their recordings deleted by the guards.

The crew however managed to retrieve some of the recordings from the memory card after the soldiers had forced them to format it. The media personnel were briefly detained and released following the intervention of officials of the Ministry of Environment and senior officers of the Ghana Armed Forces.

Reacting to the story, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Armed Forces, Colonel Eric Aggrey-Quarshie, told the MFWA that the military authorities are investigating the alleged involvement of soldiers in the affair.

“The Armed Forces have not received any official report about the incidents; neither from Luv FM nor the government Taskforce. Nonetheless, we have begun preliminary investigations into media reports of the presence of soldiers at the mining site in order to find out those involved and whether they were there in official capacity. If any wrongdoing is established, we will apply the relevant sanctions under our internal disciplinary code to those involved,” Colonel Aggrey-Quarshie said.

The MFWA strongly condemns the assault on the LUV FM crew who were carrying out legitimate duties. The seizure of the journalists’ camera and forcible deletion of contents their phones is an illegal violation of their digital rights. We are deeply concerned about the role of vigilantes in this drama which is contrary to the recently-enacted anti-vigilantism law in Ghana.

We urge the management of the Multimedia Group to lodge a complaint with the police about the assault on their employees by the vigilantes and to follow-up on the case to ensure justice.

We welcome the proactive move by the Ghana Armed Forces to probe the alleged role of soldiers in the abuse of the journalists and in the entire drama, and advise the Multimedia Group to formally report the incident to the military authorities to facilitate their investigations.

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