Human rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has strongly condemned the recent wave of clampdowns on journalists in Nigeria,...
Human rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has strongly condemned the recent wave of clampdowns on journalists in Nigeria, calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to break his silence and take immediate action to halt what he described as "unlawful intimidation" by security agencies.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Adeyanju cited the ongoing harassment of activist and journalist Omoyele Sowore by the Department of State Services (DSS), as well as remarks made by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, as signs of a troubling erosion of press freedom under the current administration.
He urged the President to distance himself from what he termed "a dangerous pattern" and reminded Tinubu of his June address to the National Assembly, where he declared that he was unbothered by public criticism.
“The ongoing harassment of Omoyele Sowore by the DSS, alongside comments from the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, is an issue President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should clearly dissociate himself from,” Adeyanju stated. “In his address to the joint session of the National Assembly in June, the President himself said he does not care about what people say about him. Silently allowing this harassment to continue now is double speak.”
Adeyanju warned that continued silence from the Presidency could be interpreted as tacit approval of state-led intimidation, particularly in a climate where journalists are increasingly under siege.
Highlighting recent incidents, he pointed to the arrest of journalist Hassan Yelwa while covering a peaceful Shiite Maulid procession in Abuja, and the detention of Sodeeq Atanda following his reporting on sexual harassment allegations against the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Abayomi Fasina.
“These actions are unlawful and deeply condemnable,” Adeyanju said. “The protection of free speech is not optional. The President must give a clear directive that such actions stop immediately.”
He also warned that the continued suppression of press freedom could damage Nigeria’s human rights standing on the global stage, urging Tinubu to uphold constitutional guarantees of free expression and press freedom.
The statement concluded with a firm reminder that democracy cannot thrive in an environment where dissenting voices are stifled.
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