Former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the African Union of Journalists (AUJ), Lanre Ogundipe, has condemned the arrest and continued detention of journalist Stanley Ugagbe, describing the development as a threat to press freedom and the rule of law.
In a press statement issued on Saturday, Ogundipe expressed concern over what he described as the growing trend of journalists being treated as fugitives while carrying out their constitutional responsibility of informing the public.
He said the continued detention of Ugagbe raises issues that go beyond the liberty of one individual and calls attention to what he termed the disturbing disposition of some law enforcement agencies toward journalists whose reports may be uncomfortable to those in positions of authority.
According to him, where a journalist is alleged to have violated any law, the Constitution and existing statutes provide clear procedures for investigation, invitation and prosecution without resorting to intimidation or arbitrary detention.
“It has become an unhealthy pattern in our democracy that journalists are increasingly treated as fugitives rather than professionals performing a public duty,” he said.
Ogundipe argued that the use of secret arrests, prolonged detention, confiscation of work tools and other coercive measures against journalists does not strengthen law enforcement but instead weakens public confidence in institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law.
He maintained that the media is neither an extension of government nor an enemy of the state but a constitutional institution established to serve the public interest through information dissemination, accountability and the scrutiny of those in power.
“The media exists to inform citizens, interrogate power and promote accountability. Attempts to criminalise journalism through arbitrary law enforcement actions diminish the dignity of the law and erode the democratic values we have collectively struggled to build,” he stated.
Reflecting on his decades-long career in journalism, Ogundipe said he was deeply troubled by the development, noting that he had spent nearly five decades in the profession and had witnessed the country’s transition from military rule to democracy.
He said journalists and media practitioners made enormous sacrifices in the struggle for democratic governance and should not now be subjected to actions capable of creating fear within the media and discouraging public-interest journalism.
“We did not endure years of repression in pursuit of democracy only to witness a gradual return to practices that create fear within the media and discourage legitimate public-interest journalism,” he said.
The former NUJ president called on the relevant authorities to immediately release Stanley Ugagbe unless there is a lawful basis to promptly arraign him before a court of competent jurisdiction.
He also urged law enforcement agencies to review their engagement with journalists and ensure that their actions conform to constitutional provisions and respect for fundamental human rights.
According to Ogundipe, the strength of any democracy is measured not by how it treats those who support those in authority but by how it protects the rights of those whose professional responsibility is to scrutinise government and other public institutions.
He warned that a nation that treats journalists as fugitives ultimately undermines the dignity of its own laws and weakens the foundations of its democracy.
The statement was signed by Lanre Ogundipe, former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the African Union of Journalists, and dated July 5.
