Nigeria: State Agents Behind 74 Percent of Attacks On Journalists - MRA

The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has accused Nigerian security and law enforcement agencies of turning against the very people they are mandated to protect, journalists, in what it described as a disturbing trend of state-sponsored repression.

In a 129-page report titled "When Protectors Become Predators: The State Against Freedom of Expression in Nigeria," released on Monday to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, MRA documented 69 cases of attacks, arrests, and harassment of journalists between January and October 2025.

The report revealed that government officials were responsible for nearly 74 percent of all violations, with the Nigeria Police Force accounting for 45 percent -- the highest among offenders. Other perpetrators included operatives of the DSS, the military, and political officeholders.

According to MRA, at least 69 incidents were documented during the period under review, including arbitrary arrests and detention, physical attacks, threats to life, invasions of media offices, abductions, and other forms of harassment or intimidation of journalists performing their legitimate professional duties.

MRA's Deputy Executive Director, Ayode Longe, said the findings expose a "systematic breakdown of law enforcement accountability" and a "direct assault on democracy and the rule of law."

He warned that pervasive impunity for such attacks has created a climate of fear and self-censorship, weakening Nigeria's democratic institutions.

MRA called on the federal government to establish and enforce accountability mechanisms for government officials involved in attacks on journalists, as well as reform and retrain security, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies to enable them to respect and uphold human rights and media freedom.

It called on the National Assembly to enact legislation that specifically criminalizes attacks on journalists and urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to develop and adopt a system for monitoring the misuse of judicial processes to harass journalists while also taking measures to prevent such further abuses.

Read the original article on Daily Trust.