WSCIJ HOSTS CIVIC SPACE GUARD PROJECT; URGES NIGERIANS TO CLAIM ROLE AS CUSTODIANS OF THE CIVIC SPACE
By Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
L-R: Founder/Director of Research and Policy at Spaces for Change (S4C), Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri; popular actor and comedian, Debo Adedayo (aka Mr. Macaroni); Lagos Police PRO, SP Benjamin Hundeyin and Moderator/Channels TV news anchor, Bukola Samuel-Wemimo.
Themed ‘Hushed Voices and the the media’s defence of the civic space’, the Civic Space Guard Project organized by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) supported by the MacArthur Foundation, the Luminate Group, the Open Society for West Africa and the Ford Foundation was a platform for stakeholders to reiterate the need for a vibrant civic space as a requisite to engender democracy and good governance.
The robust panel session comprising the Founder/Director of Research and Policy at Spaces for Change (S4C), Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri; popular actor and comedian, Debo Adedayo (aka Mr. Macaroni); Lagos Police PRO, SP Benjamin Hundeyin; human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong; and Head, Weekend Crime Desk of The Nation Newspaper, Mr. Olukunle Akinrinade was moderated by Channels TV news anchor, Bukola Samuel-Wemimo.
DPO, Ilupeju Division, SP Matilda Ngbaronye
In her opening, the Executive Director/CEO of Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Mrs. Motunrayo Alaka affirmed that the civic space must be kept free and the responsibility lies with Nigerians. She said: ‘This is a free space and that is what the civic space is about. We have the right to demand good governance. We have the right to speak up. It is our common wealth. It belongs to Nigeria.’
‘Those in authority often work to hush voices that disagree. When there is an attempt to repress or suppress the people, the media along with other custodians of the rule of law have a duty to speak out’, Mrs. Alaka shared.
L-R: DPO, Ilupeju Division, SP Matilda Ngbaronye; Spokesperson, NSCDC Lagos Command, ASCI Abolurin Oluwaseun Olumide and Mr. Macaroni.
The Nation newspaper journalist, Mr. Olakunle Akinrinade said: ‘Protecting the sanity of the civic space is very important. There is nothing we can do to prevent people from speaking out just as we can’t stop the Police from investigating the people. Why would you tell someone that is pained not to cry out?’
In defence of Nigeria media, Mr. Akinrinade said: ‘Journalism does not promote sensationalism. People risk their lives to ensure that there is justice. If I tell you how many times I have escaped assassination, I have been told at a time that I am inciting the people against soldiers. Nigerian media is self-regulatory.’
L-R: human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong; Moderator/Channels TV news anchor, Bukola Samuel-Wemimo and Spokesperson, NSCDC Lagos Command, ASCI Abolurin Oluwaseun Olumide
On the social media bill, he said: ‘The social media bill is just to gag freedom of expression which is the legal right of every citizen which is not only in Nigeria but everywhere. Journalists must develop the grit to go all out.The regulation is meant to gag, don’t let it stop you.’
‘Our society is highly militarized, there are many security agencies around. We have nothing against the Police but we have something against the authority that gives order to the Police. Look at the FOI Act, how many times have we been able to use it?’, he remarked.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command of Nigeria Police, SP Benjamin Hundeyin asserted: ‘We work with information. We don’t have 911 here so when you see something say something. That’s why I appreciate the work of journalists. They bring issues to our notice. We appreciate when people bring to us information.’
Speaking at the panel, the Principal Counsel of Inibehe Effiong Chambers, Barr. Inibehe Effiong urged Nigerians never to be afraid of exercising their fundamental rights and freedom including participating in peaceful protests asserting that the Police have not been able to secure a single judgment since the protests because they have always defeated the Police in court. He added: ‘The man who named his dog Buhari, we went to court for him and we got judgment for him. Is there is a special tag to the name Buhari.
What if the dog was named Miracle, does it make a difference? When we have a system that protects the ruling class, then that is the problem. Don’t be afraid if you want to go and protest, feel free. Don’t ever be afraid that the government will arrest and harass you.’
On the poor application of laws in Nigeria, Effiong said: ‘The Police Act 2020 says you can’t arrest by proxy. The law also says if you are arrested, the Police should call your family not that you should ask them to give you phone to call your family but are they doing that. The law also says that irrespective of whoever you are, as long as the offence is bailable, the Police should treat you well. The law of 2017 says that no security agency should touch a Nigerian but the questions we are asking are ‘when are these laws going to be implemented?’
‘To the Nigerian media, it has its own weaknesses, it is not perfect but without the media we will not be where we are. The media has done an excellent job when you look at Section 22 of the Constitution and it says that journalists should not be intimidated. Most media houses are afraid to come to court to enforce their rights.
They are reluctant to challenge the violation of their rights. That is the question that the media must think about.’
‘For Police, we are not against you. I have a brother who is a Police officer. I have members of my family in the military. But the problem we have with the Police is that even when you are fighting for their rights, they are still trying to kill you’, Inibehe concluded.
On her part, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri said: ‘There are many laws that can protect us that many people don’t know about. For example, the FOI Act. There are two groups that asked government to break down all they have spent during the lockdown. We also need to understand that while we may get some results online, you need to match online energy with offline action. If you don’t actively bring a case to court and it is assigned to a judge, no matter how progressive the judge is, there is nothing he can do.’
She advised journalists, ‘if there is severe danger and you need to apply for asylum, thre are opportunities to defend yourself. For those who blog, they must also know about libel, defamation, etc. There is a fine line between wanting to share information and libel which if you cross those lines, you can be charged.’
Popular actor and comedian, Debo Adedayo aka Mr. Macaroni who participated actively in the Endsars protest of 2020 said: ‘The Endsars protests were never violent. The burning never started until the tollgate incident. There is a thug that wanted to cause trouble, we got him and handed him over to the Police, where is he now? That picture is still on the Internet till today.’
‘We are protesting against the system. We are talking against a system that has weaponized the Police against the people. The culture of ‘constituted authority’ is coming out of a place of arrogance in power, arrogance from the place that does not know that the people in power are only there for service. That is why a politician will move in 5 cars in traffic and will want to pass when I cannot pass because he is the politicians, I am the citizen. If I can’t pass, he is not supposed to pass. If I can’t sleep, he is not supposed to sleep. It is always when protests are about the people that they say No. When political rallies happen and many of them are chaotic, what happens?’, he revealed about the protest.
However, Mr. Macaroni sounded a note of caution to protesting youths, ‘Anything that the Police is doing for you outside like asking for money is small. Don’t follow them to station because when you go there, that is where you will see the real brutality. They beat me, they got me totally naked, they put hands in my eyes, they do evil things.’
Lending his voice against the social media bill, the social media influencer, Mr. Adedayo said: ‘Leadership is service, selflessness, sacrifice, and accountability to God and the people. You promised to serve. It is evil to protest when you are not there but when you are there; you say that the social media which was good then is no longer good. It seems it is a crime for you to challenge power, whether you speak respectfully or not. That is where the social media is where people talk more.’
ASCI Abolurin Oluwaseun Olumide, public relations officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Lagos Command said, “Nigeria belongs to us all and we need to protect it at all cost. In carrying out our civic activities, we should also realise that human lives are precious.”
