FG working to stop impunity against journalists in Nigeria – Malami

Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) on Tuesday said the Federal government was working to stop impunity of crimes against journalists.

The AGF spoke at the policy dialogue, 2021 International Day to end impunity for crimes against journalists, saying that journalists must be protected at all costs.

The event was organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice in conjunction with the European Union, and Managing Conflict in Nigeria Programme.

In his keynote speech, Malami said Nigeria operates Constitutional democracy that guarantees freedom of expression, hence, government would provide conducive atmosphere for citizens to air their their views.

He said freedom of speech is an inalienable rights of citizens to ventilate their opinions which he assured Nigerians that the Federal government was putting laudable initiatives in place to protect journalists.

“I am convinced that journalism is not a crime. Rather, there are apparent crimes committed by some people that claim to practice journalism. “Journalists are not in any way targeted for witch-hunt.”

Malami insisted that the Federal Government has provided an enabling environment for journalism to thrive, and therefore appealed to journalists to desist from sensational reports that could threaten public peace.

“I call on journalists to refrain from fake news, defamation, sedition, hate speech, blasphemy, incitement of inflammatory statements in their reportage that could jeopardize our cooperate existence as a nation and hamper the peace we have been enjoying. “National interest built on corporate existence needs to bind our patriotic engagement in advancing the interest of the nation” the Justice Minister stated.

As the Chief-Law Officer of the country, the AGF said he is determined to uphold the constitutionally saddled responsibility of ensuring strict adherence to the rule of law and bringing to an end the issue of impunity for crime in all ramifications”.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General of the Federation Mohammed Umar, condemned all forms of crimes perpetrated against journalists in view of their roles in the “development of our fledging democracy”.

He said the practice of journalism help in moulding opinion which also assist in providing responsible leadership for the country, which he maintained that government was committed to ensuring safety of journalists.

Professor Umaru Pate, Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Gombe, delivered lead presentation on “Ending Impunity for Crimes against journalists in Nigeria”.

Representatives of European Union, the Minister of Information, National Programme Manager, MCN Prof Muhammadu Tabiu, etc gave goodwill messages at the event.