Former President of the Nigeria and Africa Union of Journalists (NUJ/AUJ), Mr Lanre Ogundipe, has said that the arrest and continued detention of a journalist, Stanley Ugagbe, calls to question the disturbing disposition of some law enforcement agencies towards journalists who, in the legitimate discharge of their constitutional responsibility, publish information that may be uncomfortable to those in authority, as it raises issues far beyond the liberty of an individual.
He described as an unhealthy pattern in the nation’s democracy the manner journalists are increasingly treated as fugitives rather than professionals performing public duty.
Mr Ogundipe, in a statement issued on Sunday, July 5, stated: “Where a journalist is alleged to have breached any law, the Constitution and our statutes provide clear procedures for investigation, invitation and prosecution.
“Resorting to intimidation, secretive arrests, prolonged detention, confiscation of work tools or other coercive tactics does not strengthen law enforcement. It weakens public confidence in the institutions charged with upholding the rule of law.”
He pointed out that “the media is neither an appendage of government nor an enemy of the State. It exists as a constitutional institution in the service of the public interest; to inform citizens, interrogate power and promote accountability.”
Ogundipe said that attempts to criminalise journalism through arbitrary law enforcement actions diminish the dignity of the law and erode the democratic values “we have collectively struggled to build.”
He stated further: “Having devoted close to five decades to the journalism profession and having had the privilege of serving as President of both the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the African Union of Journalists (AUJ), I view this development with profound concern. We did not endure years of repression in pursuit of democracy, only to witness a gradual return to practices that create fear within the media and discourage legitimate public-interest journalism.
“I therefore call on the relevant authorities to immediately release Stanley Ugagbe, unless there exists a lawful basis to promptly arraign him before a court of competent jurisdiction.
“More importantly, I urge law enforcement agencies to fundamentally rethink their engagement with journalists. Democracy is not measured by how it treats those who praise authority, but by how it protects the rights of those whose professional duty is to scrutinise it.
“A nation that treats its journalists as fugitives ultimately diminishes the dignity of its own laws and weakens the foundations of its democracy.”
