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2007 Assessment

Nigeria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Nigeria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Media
Indicators		Score
5	Are media and free speech protected?	100
6	Are citizens able to form print media entities?	69
7	Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?	50
8	Can citizens freely use the Internet?	100
9	Are the media able to report on corruption?	75
10	Are the media credible sources of information?	65
11	Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?	67

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are media and free speech protected?

5a: In law, freedom of the media is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments: This section guarantees the right to freedom of the press.

References: Section 39, 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria [ LINK ]

5b: In law, freedom of speech is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Section 39, 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria [ LINK ]

Are citizens able to form print media entities?

6a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a print media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: This process is that if a media outlet meets the criteria, it will be granted a license. It is usually handled at the state level. The only barrier is the time of processing the application.

References: 1. Lanre Arogundade, coordinator, International Press Center (IPC) , Sheraton Hotel, Aug. 24, 2007; 2. Tunde Aremu, Communications officer, Action Aid International Nigeria, Abuja Office, Aug. 24, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Government can frustrate the registration process through taking excessive time handling applications.

Peer Review Comments: I agree with the comments above, however the conditions for processing an application are too strigent for a nation that wants to develop. The requirement of almost a million naira (US$8,272) for registration in an economy that is bad as ours and the long delay in granting licenses has to be rexamined. This was done under the Abacha regime to hamper the freedom of the press and has not been corrected since our democracy began, in 1998.

Peer Review Comments: The process is political, and most people who own the private media have strong links with the government.

6b: In law, where a print media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments: This is covered as a civil action and this can be appealed under the various civil procedure rules of various courts. The hierarchy of courts as stated in the constitution implies a right of appeal for both civil and criminal cases.

References: 1. Chapter V11, 1999 Federal Constitution of Nigeria

6c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: This varies from state, because these licenses are given at the state levels by the States Ministries of Information. Due to the bureaucratic nature of the ministries, the process usually takes more than two months.

6d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: The costs of the licenses are fairly reasonable. The additional costs are the required visits to a particular office.

Peer Review Comments: Bribery is a major problem here. Licenses are not granted on time unless the people in charge of approval, especially of final approval, are bribed.

Peer Review Comments: The costs are not reasonable in my opinion, considering the standard of living of the average Nigerian, the service provided by the government for registration and the need to better educate the public.

Peer Review Comments: Until May, when the new regime came in, there were moves to raise the costs of both print and broadcast licenses. The moves were resisted, but we are not sure if the issue is resolved now.

Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?

7a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a broadcast (radio and TV) media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: The challenge in forming a broadcast media entity is in the very prohibitive cost charged by the license agency. This means that the medium is concentrated in the hands of the very wealthy.

Peer Review Comments: Licenses are rarely awarded to government critics.

7b: In law, where a broadcast (radio and TV) media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

References: 1.Chapter V11, 1999 Federal Constitution of Nigeria

7c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The process is very time consuming. In terms of the NBC procedure, any person intending to apply for a broadcast license must first incorporate a limited liability company, with Nigerians holding a majority of the shares. A prospective applicant must then fill in and return an application form, to the secretary of the Commission. The application is then processed by the Commissions staff who makes a recommendation to the board of the Commission. The board then sends its recommendation through the Minister of Information to the president, who gives the final approval.

Peer Review Comments: In practice, licenses are only granted to government favorites.

7d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: The categories of broadcast licenses fees are expensive - which is why there have not been community radios in Nigeria. These fees only apply to privately-owned stations, while government-owned stations have flat rates.

Peer Review Comments: Reasonable cost may be relative if you look at the operating licenses charged in other sectors, for example banking and telecoms. However, the fact that there are lots of radio stations now, compared to three years ago, seems to indicate reasonable cost, especially for radio. My score is 50.

Can citizens freely use the Internet?

8a: In practice, the government does not prevent citizens from accessing content published online.

Score:

100

Comments: This has never happened.

Peer Review Comments: Government awareness of information technology is still very low here.

8b: In practice, the government does not censor citizens creating content online.

Score:

100

Comments: There aren't any known cases.

Peer Review Comments: Government awareness of information technology issues is still very low

Peer Review Comments: The Economic and Financial Crime Commission has been censoring the mail of 419 in Nigeria, but these are secretly carried out.

Are the media able to report on corruption?

9a: In law, it is legal to report accurate news even if it damages the reputation of a public figure.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no law prohibiting this, aside from civil libel laws.

References: 1. Section 22, 1999 Federal Nigerian Constitution

9b: In practice, the government or media owners/distribution groups do not encourage self-censorship of corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: Self-censorship exists, mostly by media owners, depending on their interests. Media owners often have high ranking government officials friends and may not report corrupt news on them, but this would be reported by another media outlet with no such relationship with the individual. Most journalists working with individual media outlets know their untouchable figures.

9c: In practice, there is no prior government restraint (pre-publication censoring) on publishing corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: This hardly ever happens. Most of the times, the State Security Service clamps dowm on the media outlet after the story has been published.

Peer Review Comments: They also send government state security agents to where such anti-corruption book is to be launched.

Are the media credible sources of information?

10a: In law, print media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments: Print media companies must be registered as media companies and as corporate entities at the CAC. The CAC requires, amongst other things, a document showing the directors of the company.

References: 1. Section 35, Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1999

Peer Review Comments: It is not compulsory to publicly identify the owners of media outlets.

10b: In law, broadcast (radio and TV) media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

References: 1. Section 35, Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1999

Peer Review Comments: It is not compulsory to publicly identify the owners of media outlets.

10c: In practice, journalists and editors adhere to strict, professional practices in their reporting.

Score:

100

Comments: Nigerian journalists have not completely abided by the formalistic code of conduct. Many times, journalists cover events only after they have been given money, in what is now popularly known as "Brown Envelope". It is well known that for media outlets to cover some events, they have to be remunerated. A contributing factor is that most journalists are not paid salaries or are poorly paid.

Peer Review Comments: Some Nigerian journalists maintain a high level of adherence to professional ethics.

Peer Review Comments: Publishers also impose unwritten rules on journalists regarding what (and what not to) publish based on the publishers' interests. Facts may be distorted in favor of such publishers, though few media houses are in this habit.

10d: In practice, during the most recent election, political parties or independent candidates received fair media coverage.

Score:

100

Comments: In the period leading up to the election, the ruling Party PDP got the most media coverage. Few other political parties like the AC, ANPP, AD and DPP got time allocation but not as much as PDP. This was mostly in broadcast media, as most national and state media outlets with wide coverage are government-owned.

References: 1."Analysis of Media Perfomance in 2007 Elections" by Media Rights Agenda on Behalf of Global Rights Partners for Justice, May 2007 Global Rights Newsletter; 2. Lanre Arogundade, coordinator, International Press Center (IPC) , Sheraton Hotel, Aug. 24, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Wealthy parties or candidates received more media coverage than less wealthy candidates and parties.

10e: In practice, political parties and candidates have equitable access to state-owned media outlets.

Score:

100

Comments: Generally, in the process of the last elections, many political parties could not access state-owned media. They were even instances when they offered money and they were refused coverage.

Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?

11a: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no journalists imprisoned related to work covering corruption during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if any journalist was jailed because of his/her work covering corruption during the study period. The causal relationship between the official charges and the journalist\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the journalist was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: This is not a frequent occurrence at the national level. Two Nigerian journalists were arrested for a story on a presidential aircraft and charged with treason, then released on bail by a court in Abuja. They spent some days in jail, before being released on bail.

References: 1."Detained Nigerian Journalists Out on Bail," Voice of America Report on newsVOAcom, June 29, 2000 [ LINK ]; 2. Lanre Arogundade, coordinator, International Press Center (IPC) , Sheraton Hotel, Aug. 24, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Many journalists investigating stories have been victims of harassment through unwarranted arrest and detention.

Peer Review Comments: The reporters in question were arrested, tried and freed, but never imprisoned.

11b: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

Comments: This happened to journalists mostly when covering election activities at state-level. The were a few reported incidents of journalists being harassed during the gubernatorial elections, while trying to get coverage of rigging by politicians. Anambra state is an instance.

Peer Review Comments: I monitor press harassment in Nigeria and I believe many were harassed. Public officials are deadly when it comes to investigating journalists' activities.

11c: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of journalists being killed because of their work covering corruption-related issues during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a journalist was killed in relation to his or her work covering corruption-related issues in the study period. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s work may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable guess that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: There are no documented cases known.