“He hit me with a gun butt,” Premium Times newspaper reporter Yakubu Mohammed told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), recalling how he was struck by a police officer while reporting on cost-of-living protests in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja on August 1. Two other officers beat him, seized his phone, and threw him in a police van despite his wearing a ”Press” vest and showing them his press identification card.

Mohammed is one of at least 56 journalists who were assaulted or harassed by security forces or unidentified citizens while covering the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations in Nigeria, one of several countries across sub-Saharan Africa that have experienced anti-government protests in recent months.

In Kenya, at least a dozen journalists have been targeted by security personnel during weeks of youth-led protests since June, with at least one reporter shot with rubber bullets and several others hit with teargas canisters. Meanwhile, Ugandan police and soldiers used force to quash similar demonstrations over corruption and high living costs, while a Ghanaian court banned planned protests.

Globally, attacks on the press often spike during moments of political tension. In Senegal, at least 25 journalists were attacked, detained, or tear gassed while reporting on February’s protests over delayed elections. Last year, CPJ found that more than 40 Nigerian journalists were detained, attacked, or harassed while reporting on presidential and state elections. In 2020, at least a dozen journalists were attacked during the #EndSARS campaign to abolish Nigeria’s brutal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit.

CPJ’s documentation of the incidents below, based on interviews with those affected, local media reports, and verified videos and photos, are emblematic of the dangers faced by reporters in many African countries during protests – and the failure of authorities to prioritize journalists’ safety and ending impunity for crimes against journalists.

All but one of the journalists – a reporter for government-owned Radio Nigeria – worked for privately owned media outlets.

July 31

• In western Lagos State, police officers harassed Bernard Akede, a reporter with News Central TV, and his colleagues, digital reporter Eric Thomas and camera operators Karina Adobaba-Harry and Samuel Chukwu, forcing them to pause reporting on the planned protests at the Lekki toll gate.

August 1

• In Abuja, police officers arrested Jide Oyekunle, a photojournalist with the Daily Independent newspaper, and Kayode Jaiyeola, a photojournalist with Punch newspaper, as they covered protests.

• In northern Borno State, at least 10 armed police officers forcefully entered the office of the regional broadcaster Radio Ndarason Internationale (RNI) and detained nine members of staff for five hours. Those held said that police accused them of publishing “fake news” in the arrest documentation and RNI’s project director David Smith told CPJ that the raid was in response to the outlet’s reporting via WhatsApp on the protests.

The detained staff were: head of office Lami Manjimwa Zakka; editor-in-chief Mamman Mahmood; producer Ummi Fatima Baba Kyari; reporters Hadiza Dawud, Zainab Alhaji Ali, and Amina Falmata Mohammed; head of programs Bunu Tijjani; deputy head of programs Ali Musa; and information and communications technology head Abubakar Gajibo.

• In Abuja, police officers threw tear gas canisters at Mary Adeboye, a camera operator with News Central TV; Samuel Akpan, a senior reporter with TheCable news site; and Adefemola Akintade, a reporter with the Peoples Gazette news site. The canisters struck Adeboye and Akpan’s legs, causing swelling.

• In northern Kano city, unidentified attackers wielding machetes and sticks smashed the windows of a Channels Television-branded bus carrying 11 journalists and a car carrying two journalists.

The journalists were: reporters Ibrahim Ayyuba Isah of TVC News broadcaster, whose hand was cut by glass; Ayo Adenaiye of Arise News broadcaster, whose laptop was damaged; Murtala Adewale of The Guardian newspaper, Bashir Bello of Vanguard newspaper, Abdulmumin Murtala of Leadership newspaper, Sadiq Iliyasu Dambatta of Channels Television, and Caleb Jacob and Victor Christopher of Cool FM, Wazobia FM, and Arewa Radio broadcasters; camera operators John Umar of Channels Television, Ibrahim Babarami of Arise News, Iliyasu Yusuf of AIT broadcaster, Usman Adam of TVC News; and multimedia journalist Salim Umar Ibrahim of Daily Trust newspaper.

• In southern Delta State, at least 10 unidentified assailants opposed to the protest attacked four journalists: reporters Monday Osayande of The Guardian newspaper, Matthew Ochei of Punch newspaper, Lucy Ezeliora of The Pointer newspaper, and investigative journalist Prince Amour Udemude, whose phone was snatched. Osayande told CPJ by phone that they did not make a formal complaint to police about the attack because several police officers saw it happen, but added that the state commissioner for information, Efeanyi Micheal Osuoza, had promised to investigate. Osuoza told CPJ by phone that he was investigating the matter and would ensure the replacement of Udemude’s phone.

August 3

• In Abuja’s national stadium, masked security forces fired bullets and tear gas in the direction of 18 journalists covering the protests, several of whom were wearing “Press” vests.

The journalists were: Premium Times reporters Abdulkareem Mojeed, Emmanuel Agbo, Abdulqudus Ogundapo, and Popoola Ademola; TheCable videographer Mbasirike Joshua and reporters Dyepkazah Shibayan, Bolanle Olabimtan, and Claire Mom; AIT reporter Oscar Ihimhekpen and camera operators Femi Kuku and Olugbenga Ogunlade; News Central TV camera operator Eno-Obong Koffi and reporter Emmanuel Bagudu; the nonprofit International Centre for Investigative Reporting’s video journalist Johnson Fatumbi and reporters Mustapha Usman and Nurudeen Akewushola; and Peoples Gazette reporters Akintade and Ebube Ibeh.

Kuku dislocated his leg and Ademola cut his knees and broke his phone while fleeing.

• In Abuja’s Wuse neighborhood, unidentified men robbed Victorson Agbenson, political editor of the government-owned Radio Nigeria broadcaster, and his driver Chris Ikwu at knifepoint as they covered a protest.

August 6

• In Lagos State, unidentified armed men hit four journalists from News Central TV and their vehicle with sticks. The journalists were News Central TV’s Akede, camera operator Adobaba-Harry, reporter Consin-Mosheshe Ogheneruru, and camera operator Albert David.

Abuja police spokesperson Josephine Adeh told CPJ by phone on August 16 that police did not carry out any attacks on the media and asked for evidence of such attacks before ending the call. She also accused CPJ of harassing her.

Police spokespersons Bright Edafe of Delta State and Haruna Abdullahi of Kano State told CPJ that their officers had not received any complaints about attacks on the press.

Lagos State police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin referred CPJ to the state’s police Complaint Response Unit, where the person who answered CPJ’s initial phone call declined to identify themselves and said they had no information about attacks on journalists. CPJ’s subsequent calls and messages went unanswered.

CPJ’s repeated calls and messages to Borno State Commissioner for Information Usman Tar requesting comment were unanswered.

GIK/APA