FG Vows to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists-Malami.

By John Nwokocha Abuja

The Federal Government has vowed to end impunity for crimes against journalists and members of the public, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has said.

Malami stated this while commemorating  the 2020 United Nations  International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, which falls on November 2 every year.  According to the Minister 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 28^th day of October 2020 indicated that Nigeria is the only country that came off the index from 2019.

Malami who expressed joy over development described the achievement as a result of deliberate and committed efforts of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration 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 centers and judicious implementation of the Criminal Justice Act and Justice Sector reforms.

A statement  by Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu,

Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, reads that the minister, expressed optimism that given solid foundation of reformed justice sector to be bequeathed by this government, Nigeria would not again feature among nations  where journalists, citizens and inhabitants will suffer any form of impunity in the  future.

As the Minister puts it “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”.

He added: 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”.

The Minister who used the occasion to urge journalists to adhere strictly to the ethical provisions of their profession and refrain from misinformation and fake news said the  government was working to ensure safety of journalists against rhetorical aggression, trolling, incursion of privacy, phissing and cyber attcks.

Noting that with the development of information and communication technology and as the internet became a veritable tool for mass mediated communication, he is optimistic that with the implementation of cybercrime Act2015 the incidences of cyber related crimes would be minimized.

He further reiterated government’s commitment to maintain the tempo,  saying there was no room for complacency in ensuring serene online and offline atmosphere of journalism practice in the country.