Fact Check

Were 2 women stunning at King Charles III’s coronation of Nigerian descent? – Project FactCheck Nigeria

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, after a Federal Executive Council meeting in April claimed that Nigeria is the only African country in 2022 that has been fully compliant with the protection of journalists based on a Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) report.

The claim is false, here’s what we know

The CPJ in a release debunked Malami’s claim, noting that the minister misinterpreted its report to drive home his position.

CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, Angela Quintal, condemned the Minister’s statement saying, “CPJ’s research on press freedom in Nigeria, showing years of attacks on press members —including killings— strongly contradicts comments by Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami about the press freedom situation in the country. Malami’s misrepresentation of CPJ research is particularly alarming and tragically ironic given how frequently Nigerian journalists are accused and prosecuted for distributing alleged falsehoods.”

The organisation also said the minister had repeatedly misquoted its data to mean Nigeria was doing well in protecting journalists.

Meanwhile, according to data from the Press Attack Tracker, 52 journalists were attacked in Nigeria in 2022.

In the same year, Reporters Without Borders ranked Nigeria 129/180 in its chart on the safety of journalists.

“Nigeria is one of West Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists, who are often watched, attacked, arbitrarily arrested and even killed,” the report added.

CONCLUSION

The claim that Nigeria is the only African country that complied with Journalists’ Protection in 2022 is FALSE

Source: Dubawa

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