FG Moves To End Impunity For Crimes Against Journalists
Attorney-General of the
Federation and minister
of justice, Abubakar
Malami, SAN, has said that the
Federal Government of Nigeria
is determined to end impunity for
crimes against members of the
public including the journalists.
This is contained in a statement
issued by Dr. Umar Jibrilu
Gwandu, special assistant on
media and public relations, office of the Attorney-General of
the Federation, which was made available to The Pioneer in
Abuja recently.
In his message commemorating the United Nation proclaimed November 2nd as International Day to End Impunity
for Crimes Against Journalists,
the minister said it is gratifying
to note that Nigeria is no longer
among the countries with impunity for crimes against journalists.
The 2020 global index for impunity for crimes against journalists by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), released
on Wednesday; October 28 2020
indicated that Nigeria is the only
country that came off the index from 2019.
Malami described the
achievement as a result of deliberate and committed efforts of
the President Muhammadu
Buhari led Federal Government
through the implementation of
many reforms in the Nigerian
justice sector to include increased access to justice, speedy
justice dispensation, decongestion of Nigeria's correctional
centres and implementation of
the Criminal Justice Act and
Justice Sector reforms.
He expressed optimism that
with solid foundation of reformed justice sector to be bequeathed by Buhari Administration, never again would Nigeria
feature among nations where
journalists, citizens and inhabitants of the country will suffer
from any form of impunity in
the future.
The minister said the recent
developments in the Nigeria's
international arbitration against
P&ID and some international oil
companies are but indicators of
resolute determination of the
Federal Government to bring to
an end the era of impunity and
lack of adherence to due diligence
and rule of law in governmental
operations.
The statement noted, " it could be recalled that in the last
decade, before the advent of the
present administration, Nigeria
ranked 13th across the globe and
used to be among top three African countries with impunity
for crimes against journalists
only after Somalia and South
Sudan.
While expressing commitment
to maintain the tempo, Malami
said there was no room for complacency in ensuring serene
online and offline atmosphere of
journalism practice in the country.
The minister noted that with
the development of information
and communication technology
and as the internet became a veritable tool for mass mediated
communication, the minister
said government is working to
ensure safety of journalists
against rhetorical aggression,
trolling, incursion of privacy,
phishing and cyber attacks. Malami stated further that
with the implementation of
cybercrime Act 2015 the incidences of cyber related crimes
would be minimized.
He urged journalists to adhere
strictly to the ethical provisions
of their profession and refrain
from misinformation and fake
news.
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