– Nigeria has gone down the pecking order on the international press freedom index again
– The country is now to rank 122 out of 180 countries examined
– Nigeria’s downward slide on the index has been a recurring factor since President Muhammadu Buhri assumed office in 2015
Nigeria has gone down the pecking order on the international press freedom index again as the country is now to rank 122 out of 180 countries examined.
Nigeria’s downward slide on the index has been a recurring factor since President Muhammadu Buhri assumed office in 2015.
Nigeria fell from 111 to 116 in Buhari’s first year as president. This year, Nigeria recorded another fall, moving from 116 to 122 — entering the red-zone for press freedom across the world.
President Buhari is not exactly a friend of journalists
The index was released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday, April 26.
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The RSF said in a statement: “In Nigeria, it is nearly impossible to cover stories involving politics, terrorism, or financial embezzlement.
“Journalists are often threatened, subjected to physical violence, or denied access to information by government officials, police, and sometimes the public itself.
“The all-powerful regional governors are often their most determined persecutors. As Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria nonetheless has more than 100 independent media outlets.
“Online freedom was recently curbed by a cyber-crime law that punishes bloggers in an arbitrary manner.”
President Buhari’s spokesman, Femi Adesina recently said the president is committed to press freedom
According to the index, Norway, Sweden and Finland, are the countries with the best press freedom in the world, while the worst countries are Syria, Turkmenistan, Eritrea and North Korea.
The index also revealed that in 2017 alone, eight journalists have been killed across the world, while 193 are currently imprisoned. However, none of the journalist killed is from Nigeria.
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The index was released on a day the Nigerian Guild of Editors demanded an apology from the Chief Security Officer of President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Abubakar.
An overzealous Abubakar, expelled the State House correspondent of The Punch Newspapers, Olalekan Adetayo from Aso Rock recently without consulting with presidential spokespersons.
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