Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has condemned the increasing attacks and harassment of journalists in Nigeria, citing the recent arrest of Mr. Hassan Mai-Waya Kangiwa in Kebbi State after he shared a video exposing poor hospital conditions.

MRA stated that if the trend continues, it could affect media freedom, freedom of expression, and citizens’ right of access to information. The organisation requested that regional and international human rights mechanisms take prompt action to address the situation by monitoring Nigeria’s compliance with its human rights obligations and holding the government responsible for any violations.

Hassan had posted a video online showing an elderly patient lying helplessly on a bare metal bed frame without a mattress, sparking outrage across the country and renewed calls for accountability in the health sector. Rather than addressing the clear neglect and decay in the hospital system revealed in the footage, Governor Idris chose to punish the journalist by criminalising his work and violating his rights as a journalist.

According to eyewitnesses, security operatives stormed Hassan’s residence in Kangiwa town late in the night of Sunday, September 7, 2025, arresting him in front of his family. His phones and work equipment were seized during the raid, raising further concerns about the violation of his privacy and professional rights.

Hassan was initially held at a local police station before being transferred to Birnin Kebbi, the State capital, reportedly on the Governor’s orders. Since then, police authorities have refused to disclose the charges against him or grant access to his lawyers, effectively keeping him cut off from his family, friends, and legal representation.

Noting that the incident is not isolated but part of a disturbing pattern of attacks against journalists in Nigeria who are carrying out their professional duties, Mr. John Gbadamosi, MRA’s Programme Officer, said in a statement issued in Lagos that “These repeated incidents highlight the deteriorating environment for media freedom in Nigeria. The culture of impunity, enabled by government, has emboldened perpetrators, both state and non-state actors, who now attack journalists without fear of consequences.”

He called on the State Government to immediately and unconditionally release Hassan and advised Governor Idris to desist from persecuting journalists and instead focus on addressing the decay in public infrastructure, which his government has a responsibility to fix.”

Mr. Gbadamosi identified other recent cases of attacks against journalists in Nigeria to include, among others:

• The beating of Olatunji Adebayo, a correspondent with The Punch newspaper, in June 2025 and the seizure of his equipment by security operatives while he was covering a protest in Ibadan, Oyo State.

• The July 2025 harassment of Blessing Okonkwo, a freelance broadcast journalist in Anambra State, who was also assaulted by police officers who accused her of “unauthorised reporting” while she was filming a demolition exercise.

• The detention of Ibrahim Garba, a Daily Trust photojournalist in Kano, who was detained for hours in August 2025 and physically assaulted by political party loyalists while he was covering a campaign rally.

• The harassment, intimidation, and verbal assault on Ms Ladi Bala, Transport Correspondent of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and former President of the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), by Mr. Kayode Opeifa, Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), on August 27, 2025, while she was covering the derailment of a train along the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor. He is reported to have disrupted Ms Bala’s live reporting and ordered security operatives to bundle her from the scene, while threatening to report her to security agencies, the Presidency, and NTA management to ensure that she is dismissed.

• The detention of Sodeeq Atanda, a senior reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), who was arrested by the Ekiti State Police Command on September 9, 2025, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, after he honoured an invitation by the Police over his reporting exposing alleged sexual harassment reportedly perpetrated by Abayomi Fasina, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE).

• The unwarranted summoning of Fisayo Soyombo, founder of the FIJ, by the Ekiti State Police Command, directing him to appear before the Police in Ado-Ekiti on September 15, 2025, for alleged conspiracy, criminal defamation, cyberbullying, and blackmail.

MRA urged the Federal Government to conduct immediate, independent investigations into attacks on journalists and prosecute those responsible, noting a Federal High Court order from February 16, 2024, that mandates these actions.

The statement urged the Federal Government to adhere to the rule of law and address the widespread impunity for crimes against journalists by respecting court orders and ensuring that those responsible for violence and other attacks against journalists are held accountable.

The organisation also called on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), including its Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, along with the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, to engage with the Nigerian Government regarding concerns over reported incidents involving journalists. They requested that these bodies seek accountability for such incidents and promote protections for media professionals.

Mr. Gbadamosi stated: “Nigeria has made commitments to uphold human rights standards at regional and global levels. It is important for Nigeria to be accountable regarding these obligations and for the protection of journalists and the media. The international community should not ignore these incidents.”

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