Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been dragged to court by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, over ban of 25 journalists and media houses from providing media coverage at the Presidential Villa.
According to SERAP, President Tinubu’s move to bar the journalists by withdrawing their accreditations is “unlawful”.
The advocacy organisation posted on X (Twitter) Sunday:
“We’ve sued the Tinubu administration over the unlawful ban of 25 journalists from covering the Presidential Villa. The ban is inconsistent with diversity of voices and the public interest,” the post read.
Filed at the the Federal High Court in Lagos by SERAP’s lawyers, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, Kolawole Oluwadare, and Ms Valentina Adegoke, the suit with number FHC/L/CS/1766/23, seeks “an order to direct and compel President Tinubu to reverse the revocation of the accreditations and ban on 25 journalists and media houses from covering the Presidential Villa.”
It read in part:
“The ban on the journalists from covering the Presidential Villa fails to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”
“The banned journalists reportedly include those from Vanguard newspaper; Galaxy TV; Ben TV; MITV; ITV Abuja; PromptNews, ONTV, and Liberty. Other media personnel affected by the withdrawal are mostly reporters and cameramen from broadcast, print, and online media outlets.”
SERAP also seeks “an order of perpetual injunction to restrain President Tinubu or any other authority, person or group of persons from arbitrarily and unilaterally revoking the accreditations of any journalists and media houses from covering the Presidential Villa and “a declaration that the withdrawal and revocation of accreditation tags and ban on the journalists and media houses from covering the Presidential Villa without any lawful justifications is inconsistent with the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, participation, and media freedom.”
Recently, the media space was abuzz with news of the presidency’s withdrawal of the accreditations of 25 journalists from covering the Presidential Villa in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
The journalists were reportedly asked to turn in their accreditation tags, which meant they would no longer have access to the Presidential Villa to carry out media coverages.
SERAP says “the withdrawal of the accreditations of the journalists is without any lawful justifications. It is inconsistent and incompatible with plurality of voices, diversity of voices, non-discrimination, and just demands of a democratic society, as well as the public interest.”
“The media plays an essential role as a vehicle or instrument for the exercise of freedom of expression and access to information – in its individual and collective aspects – in a democratic society.
“The existence of a free, independent, vigorous, pluralistic, and diverse media is essential for the proper functioning of a democratic society,” the suit also read.
