The Withdrawal Of Accreditations Of Journalists Would Construct Barriers – SERAP To Tinubu On Ban

According to Vanguard, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) called on President Bola Tinubu to use his “good office and leadership to immediately end the illegal ban on 25 journalists and media persons from photographing the Presidential Villa and restore the accreditation of those involved”. 

SERAP called on him to “publicly refer officials to the presidential villa to allow journalists and the media to do their work freely and fulfill their constitutional duty to hold those in power accountable.

According to reports, the Federal Government recently revoked the accreditation of about 25 journalists after they failed to operate at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The banned journalists include journalists from Galaxy TV, Ben TV, MITV, ITV Abuja, Prompt, ONTV, and Liberty.

In a letter dated August 26, 2023, and signed by the Deputy Director of SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “Denying these journalists and media persons from entering the Presidential Villa prevents them from fulfilling their lawful constitutional responsibility.

The letter read in part: “We would be grateful if the recommended measures were taken within 48 hours of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

Media freedom, access to information, and citizens’ participation in the affairs of their own government are the sine qua non of a democratic and rule-of-law-based society.

The withdrawal of the accreditation tags of these journalists directly violates media freedom and human rights, including access to information and the right to participation. It would have a significant chilling effect on newsgathering and reporting functions and may lead to self-censorship.

The withdrawal of the accreditations of the journalists would construct barriers between Nigerians and certain information about the operations of their government, something that they have a constitutional right to receive.

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