A civil society organisation, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), has lent its voice to the manner two Nigerian journalists, Gidado Yushau and Alfred Olufemi, were convicted over a publication.
The popular civil society criticised the conviction of the journalists, as it referred to it as an attempt to encroach on rights to free press.
The Informant247 recalls that the journalists were in 2019 apprehended and charged to court over a publication, “Inside a Kwara factory where Indian Hemp is legalised” critical of activities at Hillcrest Agro-Allied company, which is linked to President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Adviser, Sarah Alade.
The News Digest published the feature in 2018.
The Magistrate, A.S Muhammad five years later sentenced the journalists to five months imprisonment with an option of fine.
Reacting, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, condemned the conviction of the journalists.
He described the development as a sad one, affirming the testimony of a former employee which indicted the company and a lot of infractions by the police.
He condemned the manner the Magistrate Court decided to convict the two journalists of defamation and criminal conspiracy by the court on February 7, 2023
“CISLAC, an independent, non-profit organisation, describes this as an inglorious attempt to muzzle the press and investigative journalism in Nigeria, which is unacceptable.”
“We also demand that an urgent step be taken to reform the country’s laws and ensure journalism is not criminalised like it. International human rights courts and UN bodies have repeatedly ruled against criminal sanctions for defamation.”
“The country has a robust judicial system for determining civil suits and whoever is aggrieved by what others have written about them is always welcomed to sue them for damages in a civil court.”
“It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money when public funds are used in prosecuting cases of personal interests such as this. It is no coincidence that press freedom has continually waned under President Muhammadu Buhari. Nigeria dropped to 129 from 120 in the 2022 ranking of press freedom across 180 countries.”
The civil society organization urged President Muhammadu Buhari to effect the necessary judicial reforms before he hands over to the next government in May.
