Amnesty International has condemned the alleged invasion of JKD TV Hamada Radio Network in Millennium City, Kaduna, by heavily armed police officers and the declaration of its journalist, Zainab Salihu Yabagi, as wanted.
The human rights organisation described the police action as “unlawful and outrageous,” saying a contingent of armed officers raided the media organisation and arbitrarily arrested its General Manager, Charles Abah, and a security guard.
According to Amnesty International, the police said they were acting on instructions to arrest Yabagi over a video explainer produced by JKD Radio and Television concerning Ibrahim Kabir Masari, Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs.
The Kaduna State Police Command had earlier declared Yabagi wanted in connection with the matter.
Amnesty said the incident was part of what it described as an increasingly hostile environment for journalists and independent media organisations in Nigeria, warning that government actions were creating a climate of fear within newsrooms and making it increasingly difficult for the media to report on issues of public interest without fear of reprisals.
The organisation said targeting independent media undermines the public’s right to access fair and objective information on issues affecting their lives.
It stressed that no government official, regardless of position, should be beyond public scrutiny or criticism, describing attacks on journalists and media organisations as attacks on freedom of expression and press freedom.
The rights group called for an end to intimidation and harassment of journalists, insisting that the media must be allowed to perform its constitutional and democratic role without threats, arbitrary arrests or reprisals.
