Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state; its preservation may be sought through the constitution or other legal protection and security. It is in opposition to paid press, where communities, police organizations, and governments are paid for their copyrights.
Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of the federal republic of Nigeria. As of 2006 national population census, the state was ranked as the 22nd most populous state (10,233,366) in Nigeria. The estimated state population is around 10,777,000 in 2022. Edo State is the 22nd largest State by landmass in Nigeria. The state's capital and largest city, Benin City, is the fourth largest city in Nigeria, and the centre of the country's rubber industry. Created in 1991 from the former Bendel State, it is also known as the heart beat of the nation. Edo State borders Kogi State to the north for 133 km and across the Niger River for 81 km to the northeast, Anambra State to the east for about four km across the Niger River, Delta State to the southeast and south for 350 km, and Ondo State to the west.
The State Security Service(SSS), self-styled as the Department of State Services (DSS), is a security agency in Nigeria and one of three successor organisations to the National Security Organization (NSO). The agency is under the Presidency of Nigeria, and it reports its activities direct to the President, office of the ONSA, headquartered in Abuja.
Maziar Bahari is an Iranian-Canadian journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist. He was a reporter for Newsweek from 1998 to 2011. Bahari was incarcerated by the Iranian government from June 21, 2009 to October 17, 2009, and has written a family memoir, Then They Came for Me, a New York Times best seller. His memoir is the basis for Jon Stewart's 2014 film Rosewater. Bahari later founded the IranWire citizen journalism news site, the freedom of expression campaign Journalism Is Not A Crime and the education and public art organization Paint the Change.
Leadership is a Nigerian daily national newspaper. It was established in October 2004 by Sam Nda-Isaiah, a pharmacist cum businessman and politician, and is published by Leadership Newspaper Group based in Abuja, Nigeria. On its website, the paper asserts: "We shall stand up for good governance. We shall defend the interests of the Nigerian state even against its leaders and we shall raise our pen at all times in defence of what is right. These are the values by which we intend to be assessed".
Sahara Reporters is a news agency based in New York City that focuses on promoting citizen journalism by encouraging everyday people to report stories about corruption, human rights abuses and other political misconduct in Africa, with special focus on Nigeria. Sahara Reporters specializes in exposing corruption and government malfeasance.
Nosa Igiebor is a Nigerian journalist and editor. In 1993, he won the International Press Freedom Award of the Committee to Protect Journalists for his magazine Tell's coverage of Sani Abacha's military rule.
Temesgen Desalegn is an Ethiopian journalist. As an editor of the independent weekly newspaper Feteh, Desalegn went to court many times and was imprisoned from 2014 to 2017 as a result of his criticism of the national government, drawing protests on his behalf from the international press freedom groups Committee to Protect Journalists and Article 19 and from Amnesty International. In its 2014 report, the U.S. Department of State also reported its concern against Temsgen's 3 years sentence by the government, emphasizing that Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are fundamental elements of a democratic society and government. The Human Rights Watch also reported his charge in August 2012 and his three years sentence in 2014.
Bright Okpocha, better known by his stage name Basketmouth, is a Nigerian comedian and actor. He has organized popular stand-up comedy concerts like Basketmouth Uncensored across the globe.
Nnamdi Okwu Kanu is a British-Nigerian political activist who advocates for the secession and independence of Biafra from Nigeria. He is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which he founded in 2014. The main aim of IPOB is to restore the defunct separatist state of Biafra which existed in Nigeria's Eastern Region during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–1970.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a separatist group in Nigeria that aims to restore the defunct Republic of Biafra, a country which seceded from Nigeria prior to the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970). Since 2021, IPOB and other Biafran separatist groups have been fighting a low-level guerilla conflict in southeastern Nigeria against the Nigerian government. The group was founded in 2012 by Nnamdi Kanu and Uche Mefor. Kanu is known as a British Nigerian political activist known for his advocacy of the contemporary Biafran independence movement. It was deemed a terrorist organization by the Nigerian government in 2017 under the Nigerian Terrorism Act. As of May 2022, the United Kingdom started denying asylum to members of IPOB who engaged in human rights abuses, though the U.K. government clarified that IPOB had not been designated as a terrorist organisation.
Omoyele Yele Sowore is a Nigerian Politician, human rights activist, citizen reporter, writer, lecturer and pro-democracy campaigner, known for founding the online news agency Sahara Reporters. In August 2018, he founded the African Action Congress party and ran as its presidential candidate in the 2019 Nigerian general election. Sowore also ran for President in the 2023 Nigerian General elections.
Chido Onumah is a Nigerian journalist, writer, and rights activist. He has worked for over two decades as a journalist, rights activist and media trainer in Nigeria, Ghana, Canada, India, the US, the Caribbean and Europe. He holds a PhD in Communication and Journalism from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, UAB, Spain. Onumah is a columnist with several newspapers.
Ohimai Amaize is a Nigerian journalist with a multi-sectoral background that spans anti-corruption, youth advocacy, civil society, political campaigns, brand development, communications strategy and governance.
Adesuwa Onyenokwe is a Nigerian television personality. She was a former presenter at NTA before becoming an editor for the magazine "Todays Woman". She is a talk show host of the program "Seriously Speaking" which came on air in 2014. She is a motivational speaker and elocution trainer, living in Lagos Nigeria.
Arukaino Umukoro is a Nigerian Journalist notable for winning the CNN/MultiChoice Africa Journalist Award in the year 2015.
Dickson Ameh Ojonye Akoh is the founder and National Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria.
Opeyemi Oluwole Sowore is the Nigerian American wife of Omoyele Sowore. Born 10 November 1973 USA She came to public view after several advocacy for Omoyele Sowore to be released after the journalist was rearrested by the Department of State Services on charges of threat to National Security including treasonable felony, cyberstalking and money laundering on December 6, being earlier arrested on August 3, 2019.
Omoyele 'Yele' Sowore, a presidential candidate in the Nigerian February 2019 elections was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on August 3, 2019, in Lagos, Nigeria, after he called for nation-wide protests as part of the #RevolutionNow movement he started.
Peoples Gazette is a Nigerian online newspaper based in Abuja. It launched in 2020. The online medium is notable for its investigative journalism, among other fields.
