The suit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) also sought an order of the court compelling the government of Nigeria to identify and prosecute their killers.
The regional court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sitting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital has fixed Friday, May 19, 2023, for hearing in a suit seeking to compel the Federal Government to properly investigate the unresolved killings of 11 journalists over 20 years while discharging their duties.
The suit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) also sought an order of the court compelling the government of Nigeria to identify and prosecute their killers.
The MRA told the Community Court of Justice that the journalists were killed between 1998 and 2019, but regrettably, to date, no one had been charged or prosecuted for any of the killings.
A statement issued by MRA’s Communications Officer, Idowu Adewale, on Wednesday, stated that the suit will be heard through a virtual court session, citing communication from the Court's Chief Registrar, in a "Hearing Notice" which stated that the case has been set down for hearing at 10 am, Nigerian time.
The deceased journalists, over whom MRA lodged the suit, include: “Mr Tunde Oladepo, Bureau Chief of The Guardian newspaper's Ogun State office, killed in Abeokuta on February 26, 1998 by gunmen who entered his home early in the morning on that day and shot him dead in the presence of his wife and two young children; Mr. Okezie Amauben, publisher of Newsservice magazine, reportedly arbitrarily shot and killed by a police officer in Enugu on September 2, 1998; Mr Fidelis Ikwuebe, a freelance journalist for The Guardian newspaper, who was abducted and murdered on April 18, 1999 while covering violent clashes between the Aguleri and Umuleri communities in Anambra State; Mr Sam Nimfa-Jan, a journalist with Details magazine in Jos, Plateau State, who was killed in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, on May 27, 1999 while covering riots between Hausa Fulani and Zangon-Kataf groups and his body was found with arrows protruding from his back; and Mr Samson Boyi, a photojournalist with the Adamawa State-owned newspaper, The Scope, who was killed by armed men on November 5, 1999 while on assignment to cover a visit by the then State governor, Mr Boni Haruna, to the neighbouring Bauchi State”.
The others are “Mr Bayo Ohu, then an assistant news editor with The Guardian newspaper, shot by armed men in his home in Lagos on September 20, 2009; Mr Nathan Dabak, deputy editor, and Mr Sunday Gyang Bwede, reporter, both with the Light Bearer, a monthly newspaper owned by the Church of Christ in Nigeria, who were attacked and killed by a mob in Jos on April 24, 2010, while on a reporting assignment; Mr Zakariya Isa, a reporter and cameraman with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), killed on October 22, 2011 and for which Boko Haram reportedly claimed responsibility when its spokesman, Abul Qada, was quoted as saying that the militants killed him ‘because he was spying on them for Nigerian security authorities’; Mr Enenche Akogwu, a reporter and camera operator with Channels Television, killed in Kano on January 20, 2012 by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members; and Mr Precious Owolabi, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member serving his primary assignment as a reporter with Channels Television, who was shot and killed in Abuja on July 22, 2019 while covering a protest by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria resulting in a confrontation with the Nigerian Police.”
The statement noted that the suit was filed on August 16, 2021, on behalf of MRA by Abuja-based lawyer, Mr Darlington Onyekwere, leading Ms Chioma Nwaodike, Ms Obioma Okonkwo and Mr Sideeq Rabiu, against the Federal Government of Nigeria over its failure, refusal or neglect to protect the journalists or to carry out effective investigations into their killing and prosecute or punish the perpetrators.
The statement described the government’s failure to effectively investigate the killings as a violation of the obligations imposed on it by various domestic, regional and international instruments.
Some of the reliefs the Plaintiff (MRA) sought from the court include: “A declaration that the killing of the 11 journalists is a violation of their fundamental right to life as guaranteed by Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended; Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR); Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
“A declaration that the killing of the 11 journalists while they were carrying out their professional duties is a violation of their rights to freedom of expression and the press as guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution, Article 9 of the ACHPR, Article 19 of the UDHR and Article 19(2) of the ICCPR.”
The statement further stated that the Nigerian Government, through its lawyers, Mrs Maimuna Lami Shiru, leading Mr Daniel Modozie and Mr Solomon Ogunlowo, on November 3, 2021, filed a notice of preliminary objection to the suit, a statement of defence, and a statement of facts and pleas in law.