By Lizzy Carr
The International Press Centre (IPC) Lagos has established a Centre on Safety and Protection of Journalists to address the growing spate of attacks on media freedom in Nigeria.
IPCs Executive Director Lanre Arogundade announced this in a statement to mark 2023 World Press Freedom Day.
Centre Coordinator Melody Lawal said the deteriorating press freedom situation in 2022 witnessed more attacks on Journalists and the media.
According to the statement, the IPC Safety of Journalists Alert Desk recorded 66 attacks in 2022 against 41 in 2021 with most of the perpetrators being law enforcement personnel, political thugs, hoodlums, and unknown gunmen among others.
A breakdown of the attacks shows that 4 attacks were recorded in the North East, 16 North Central, 6 North West, 26 South West, 4 South East, and 10 South South.
The statement states that the types of attacks include physical assault, abduction, gun attack, a threat to life, denial of access to information, unlawful arrest and detention, harassment, a threat to sanction, and payment of fines.
These attacks involved 26 broadcast Journalists, 13 print and 24 online Journalists.
According to the statement,56 male Journalists and 10 female journalists suffered one form of attack or the other.
IPC will launch the full details of the attacks and the modus operandi of the new Center on the Safety of Journalists will be unveiled at a media round table in Oyo State.
