The Nigerian Guild of Editors has expressed worries over the fate of journalists in the discharge of their duties.
In a release signed by the President of the Guild, Alhaji Mustapha Isa, to mark the 2021 World Press Freedom Day, the Guild observed that journalists are facing harassments and intimidations in the country while some have been killed in carrying out their legitimate duties.
The Guild particularly pointed out that no fewer than 60 journalists in Nigeria faced life and career threatening challenges arising from intimidations, arrests and detentions in 2020.
It noted that 3 journalists were killed within the same period – one by security forces during a protest in Abuja and two by unknown gunmen in Adamawa States.
The release also quoted the International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, as saying that 66 journalists were murdered in 2020 while more than 1,000 journalists died from Covid-19 in 73 countries since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to the NGE, the Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, reports that 274 journalists were murdered in 2020 for doing their jobs.
The body of Editors therefore called on Nigeria Governments to see journalists as partners in progress and not intruders.
The NGE says it is in view of these developments that it aligns with the UN and other world bodies in calling for the release of all journalists in detention in the country.
It however, commended the Federal Government for taking what it called a proactive measures in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.
