World Press Freedom Day 2023: A Farewell to Out-going Governors that stifled People’s Rights of Expression
By Bello M. Zaki
A major take-away from this year’s World Press Freedom Day activities in Nigeria was an order by a civic rights group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), to President Buhari’s administration: In a Twitter post, the group says: “Buhari administration must stop state governors from using the unlawful provisions of section 24 of the Cybercrime Act to harass, intimidate and arbitrarily detain journalists and critics.#WorldPressFreedomDay.” A spate of arrest and detention of journalists, political opponents and social media critics surged in, immediately after president Buhari assumed office in 2015, partly due to the coming to effect of the Cybercrime Act 2015, signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan.
An on-going high profile case of such arrest and detention when SERAP issued its order to the administration, was the arrest and detention of ex-Jigawa State All Progressive Congress (APC) Chairman, Habibu Sani Sara, 65 and the state’s prominent APC radio personality, Habu Karami Jahun, 72. The duo was arrested and detained at the instance of the state’s governor, Badaru Abubakar; they were charged to court last Thursday following radio programmes aired in Jigawa and Kano states in which they alleged that the governor had held a meeting with his supporters in Saudi Arabia planning to sabotage the government of the in-coming governor-elect; that the governor has bought cars for the commissioners of the in-coming administration and further alleged that the governor had bought 200 cars during his administration, but the purchase and distribution of the cars were shrouded in secrecy, they therefore demanded explanation.
They were remanded in prison by a magistrate court sitting in Dutse, till the 8th of May for hearing. They were released on bail to two sureties each on the day of the hearing and were asked to report back on the 18th.
Governor Badaru had also in April 2017 arrested the immediate past governor of the state, Alhaji Sule Lamido, for a radio programme aired in a Kano radio station, in which he allegedly incited his supporters to stop the conduct of local government elections being organised by the administration of Governor Badaru on July 1 of that year. Lamido was arrested at his Sharada Kano home on a Sunday morning and whisked away to the Zone One Command of the Nigeria Police in Kano where he was detained, while teams of police detectives were dispatched to search for incriminating items at both his Sharada home in Kano and his Bamaina residence in Birnin Kudu Local Government area of Jigawa State. Nothing was found.
Lamido was two days later arraigned before a magistrate court in Dutse, Jigawa State and charged on a four-count charge of inciting disturbance contrary to section 114 of the Penal Code, disturbance of public peace contrary to section 113 of the Penal Code, defamation of character punishable under section 392 of the Penal Code and criminal intimidation punishable under section 397 of the Penal Code. He was then remanded in prison for the next two days after which he was released on bail. The Magistrate dismissed the case at the next sitting for lack of evidence.
Previously, a former Councilor that served with Dutse Local Government, Magaji Aliyu, was arrested and remanded in prison custody by Chief Magistrate Court 1 sitting in Dutse in February 2016, over an allegation against Governor Badaru in a radio programme. Aliyu was alleged to have made an injurious and false accusation against the governor that the governor was in possession of two international passports, contrary to Section 393 (1) of the penal code.
A pathetic case of such arrests, was the arrest of Bala Izala, a 70 year old and two others, for allegedly ‘insulting’ President Buhari and Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, for failure to provide security for life and property in his native Katsina State, as a result of which bandits killed his family members and rustled their 15 cows.
It is unconstitutional to jail critics of any government in a democracy, as this amount to gross abuse of power by people in authority. Every citizen has constitutional rights to criticize any elected official as enshrined in section 39 of 1999 Constitution, thus: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”
Free speech is the backbone of democracy, citizens are enabled by the constitution of their countries with the right to express themselves openly, publicly and repeatedly, either in speech or in writing; that is the actual dividend of democracy, not provision of infrastructure which even authoritarian governments provide, but such governments do not give rights of free speech.
The World Press Freedom Day is being celebrated in the United Nations and all over the world on every 3rd of May, for the last 30 years to appreciate the contributions of journalists who dared dictators and autocrats by risking their lives to provide essential information to the public. This year’s theme for the Day was “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights”. I therefore look back to the out-going governors that stifled people’s rights of expression and bid them farewell, and appeal to the incoming governors and the sitting governors that will start serving their final terms in few days to come, to please respect the people’s constitutional rights of free expression.
Agba Jalingo, a journalist based in Cross River State and whose picture you can see above in handcuffs and in police custody, had been arrested and detained three times by the state governor of Cross River, Ben Ayade and members of the governor’s family, between 2019 and 2022. Jalingo publishes an online newspaper, CrossRiverWatch.com. He was arrested in 2019 for publishing an article alleging misappropriation by government officials of funds budgeted for the establishment of a microfinance bank. He was charged with terrorism, treason, treasonable felony and an attempt to overthrow the state government. He was incarcerated in Calabar prison for 179 days. He appealed to the ECOWAS Court of Justice that gave a ruling that Nigerian government should pay him US$71,000 as compensation for dehuminising him while in detention. He was never paid.
Jalingo was also arrested in 2021 for allegedly planning June 12 protest. He was also arrested from his Lagos home on August 19, 2022 and detained for allegedly defaming Governor Ayade’s sister in-law: He had published a statement that one Paschal Aboh, a Law lecturer at the University of Calabar who was arrested for impersonation during an examination at the Law School Bwari, Abuja in May, 2022, was writing the “exam for the wife of a prominent politician from Obudu”. Therefore, Elizabeth Ayade, the wife of the governor’s brother, Frank Ayade, petitioned the police that Jalingo alleged that she paid Aboh to write the exam for her.
Another journalist, Haruna Mohammed Salisu, the publisher of WikkiTimes, an online investigative newspaper in Bauchi State, is also a regular to the state governor, Bala Mohammed as Jalingo is to Governor Ayade. Salisu was arrested and beaten up right in front of the governor by security aides on the last presidential election day, at the governor’s village Duguri, in Alkaleri Local Government area of Bauchi State. Salisu had followed the Governor’s entourage from Bauchi to the village and was caught filming a group of women protesting against the governor for failing to fulfill election promises he made to them in his previous election campaign.
The governor alleged that Salisu was hired by his opponents to generate negative reports about him and ruin his chances at the forth coming gubernatorial election. Salisu was detained at the local police station and was later took to Bauchi and charged with inciting disturbances of public peace contrary to section 114 of the Penal Code. Salisu had before this incident relocated from Bauchi State due to incessant arrest and harassment of the government.
A journalist with Sobi FM in Kwara State, Dare Akogun and his brother, Abdulrasheed Akogun, were charged before a magistrate court sitting in Ilorin for criminal defamation, inciting disturbance and spreading falsehood by a post on a WhatsApp platform; the duo allegedly claimed that the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor had facilitated the payment of N15 million to some candidates in the state’s chapter election of Nigeria Union of journalists in order to influence the outcome of the election.
Nigeria’s legal systems have provided means of redress to victims of both legacy and social media attack, governors inclusive, in the civil law. Defamation in a democracy is a civil issue not a criminal proceeding, so it is in Nigeria except in its Penal Code, a notorious piece of legislation enacted by the colonialists in Northern Nigeria in 1959 to intimidate anti colonialists dissidents; in addition, section 24 of the Cyber Crime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, of 2015 also made Internet and network defamation a crime. This created an opportunity for Nigeria’s state governors to make arresting and detention of journalists, critics and political opponents their pastime: Governor Badaru of Jigawa State had ordered the arrest and detention of Zakari Kafin Hausa in June 2017 for criticizing him on Facebook; he was discharged and acquitted after spending several days in detention. Also, one Sabi’u Ibrahim Chamo was arrested and arraigned and charged before a chief magistrate court sitting in Dutse for alleging on a Facebook post that Governor Badaru had duped many APC aspirants by collecting money from them to give them party tickets in the last primaries, but failed to do so. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment with option of N20,000 fine and 20 strokes of the cane.
In neighboring Kano State, the state governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has been popular with the arrest and detention of critics: A social critic, Salisu Hotoro was arrested in 2019; a Facebook activist, Mu’azu Magaji was arrested in November 2021 for calling the governor a thief; one Danbala and Jamilu Shehu were arrested for calling the governor and his two children thieves; while in November 2022 two social media critics, Mubarak Muhammad and Nazifi Bala were sentenced by Magistrate Court 58 sitting in Kano to N20,000 fine, 20 strokes of the cane and 30 days community service for posting a video on Tik Tok that allegedly defamed the governor.
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State also had allegedly ordered the arrest of Comrade Aminu Harsanu Guyaba, President of the National Union of Bauchi State Students of Bauchi State University, for accusing the governor of enriching himself and his children while the citizens of the state wallowed in poverty. In May 2022, a blogger, Ahmed Olamilekan was arrested and detained for allegedly publishing a story on alleged criminal records of Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodin in the United States of America. The blogger was subjected to stringent bail conditions that kept him in jail for months.
A social media influencer in Osun State, Zirhid Akinloye, was charged to court on a four-count charge for peddling falsehood against the governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola.
Seeing this rampant arrests and detention of journalists, social media activists and political opponents, SERAP filed a suit against the Nigerian government for the abrogation of section 24 of the Cyber Crime Act in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court. Therefore, last March, the court declared this section of the Act vague, arbitrary and unlawful; that the section is contrary to the rule of law, therefore the Nigeria police should not charge anyone with cyberstalking based on the provision of Section 24 of the Cyber Crime Act of 2015. Yet the governors, the police and the courts go on with their business as usual with impunity and unabated.
Such misuse of power by elected officials can turn them into autocrats and even extend their tentacles across boundaries to clamp on critics, just like the case of Agba Jalingo who was arrested from Lagos and brought to either Abuja or Calabar to be persecuted. It could be recalled that Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, had in May 2021 ordered the hijacking of a foreign plane in order to capture and silence a dissident, Roman Protasevich, an outspoken exile who was criticizing him. While aristocrats like Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia had pursued and killed a criticizing journalist, Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
In the same vein, an Abuja businessman and social critic, Bala Sani, was arrested and bundled back to his native Gombe state where he spent months in detention for criticizing the state governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, in several Facebook postings in April 2022. Sani 47, was charged to Magistrate Court 6, Gombe for malicious falsehood and inciting disturbances. A very stringent bail condition kept Sani in prison for months and was kept incommunicado. Four other critics were arrested and detained by Governor Yahaya between March 2020 and November 2021, thus: Atiku Boza-Boza and Adamu Balarabe Makera, both of the opposition PDP, were arrested in March, 2020; Khalid Mua’azu Izala, the PRO of Gombe LGA Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was arrested in in September 2020; while Muhammad Adamu Yayari, a new media aide to Senator Danjuma Goje was also arrested in November, 2021.
Another Abuja based businessman, Tonye Okio was bundled to Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and remanded in prison for criticizing the state governor, Seriake Dickson, on his Facebook account. A journalist, Godfrey Chikwere, was arrested and charged in Ebonyi State for hate speech, inciting publication and cyberbullying, allegedly on the orders of the state governor, David Umahi. A social media influencer in Kaduna, Steven Kefas, was arrested in 2019 and spent 150 days in detention for allegedly posting social media contents considered to be injurious to Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufa’i, that was also said to be capable of causing breach of peace.
A traditional ruler in Imo State, Ekene Obinali of Umucheke, Umuobom in Ideato South Local Government area was arrested March ending for sharing a write-up allegedly critical of the state governor on a WhatsApp group platform. The post was on the alleged role played by a slain chieftain of APC, Ahmed Gulak, in the 2018 APC gubernatorial primaries which the state governor, Hope Uzodinma, won. It could be recalled that Gulak was gunned down in Owerri on 30th May 2021.
SERAP’s order to Buhari’s administration also coincided with the arrest of an Abuja Twitter activist, Chude Franklin Nnamdi, that was arrested on March 18 in Onitsha, Anambra State for twitting alleged ballot box snatching in the last state assembly and gubernatorial election in Anambra state against the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Nnamdi was also charged to a Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja for cyberstalking a very influential businessman and politician, Emeka Ofor, who he allegedly said was requested by the president-elect to plead with Labour Party contestant, Peter Obi, to accept what he called the rigged presidential election. The court granted Nnamdi bail in the sum of 10 million Naira and a surety who must be a Level 14 civil servant or a resident of the FCT with verified landed property, who must also depose to an affidavit of means.
Lack of space will not allow me to list cases Cyberstalking arrests and detention in states like Benue, Katsina, Niger, Zamfara and Bayelsa.
Also, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), a broadcast regulator, has recently been strangulating people’s rights of expression by intimidating radio and television stations with threat of closure or fine for airing what it deems inimical to the sensitivities of the ruling party, contrary to section 36 of the constitution that gives news media rights to provide platform for the opinion of all and sundry: NBC had last March fined Channel Television 5 million Naira for airing the views of Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Deputy to Labour Party presidential candidate in the last presidential election.
A human rights group, the Incorporated Media Trustees, had in 2019 gone to court to challenge the 5 million Naira fine each NBC imposed on 45 broadcast stations on March 1, 2019, which the group said was in violation of right to fair hearing under section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap AQ) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. Therefore, a Federal High Court in Abuja set aside the fine imposed by NBC on May 10, 2023, and gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining NBC from imposing fines, henceforth, on broadcast stations in the country: The court said, doing so brings NBC in conflict with section 6 of the constitution that vested judicial power of fine only to the court law.
