Africa—CPJ Urges Nigerian President To Prioritize Press Freedom

June 3, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari
State House, Abuja
Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
C/O:
Senior Special Assistant to the President
Special Adviser to the President
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to congratulate you on your recent victory in Nigeria's presidential election. As Nigeria prepares to enter a new chapter in its history, we urge you and your administration to take steps to ensure that journalists are able to work freely and openly in the country without fear of reprisal of any form.

In your inaugural speech on May 29, you identified insecurity and pervasive corruption in Nigeria to be among your immediate concerns. You also recognized the country's "vibrant" press and appealed to the media to exercise "its considerable powers with responsibility and patriotism." It is our belief that a patriotic press is also a critical press. To achieve your objective in tackling the challenges Nigeria faces, it is vital that your government prioritize press freedom so that journalists may ask questions and expose corruption at all levels of society without fear of harassment or intimidation. Nigerians and the world must be left without any suspicion or uncertainty about the transparency of your government.

As Nigeria aspires to strengthen its democracy, your government must show that it cantackle Nigeria's challenges, including the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency and the use of terror tactics, but can do so without compromising democratic principles, whose core elements include press freedom and freedom of expression. The success of the democratic government you now lead will depend largely on the guarantee that journalists are free to inform the society about their commonwealth.

CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.