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A faction of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Imo State has said a recent report, which ranked the state as the most dangerous place for journalists to operate in Nigeria, did not come as a surprise to the NUJ in the state.
The factional Chairperson of the NUJ in Imo State, Precious Nwadike, disclosed this in a statement forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday.
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Meanwhile, this newspaper gathered that the Mr Nwadike-led faction is neither recognised by the NUJ national body nor the Imo State Government.
Ifeanyi Nwanguma leads the NUJ in Imo State, which is recognised by the union’s national leadership and the state government.
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The report
On Thursday, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) launched the CJID Openness Index, Nigeria’s first-ever subnational assessment of press freedom and civic space across the 36 states and the FCT.
The CJID is a pan-African media development think tank advancing investigative journalism, fact-checking, human rights reporting, media innovation, elections, and journalist safety.
In the report, Imo State was ranked 37th ( last) out of 36 states, including FCT, with a dismal score of 40.70%, while Bauchi was ranked 35th with a poor score of 42.69% and Lagos was 22nd with a low score of 48.93%.
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NUJ speaks
Reacting in the statement, Mr Nwadike, said the report only confirmed their “long-held fears about the perilous environment for press freedom” in the state.
“This score highlights the severe challenges journalists face in carrying out their constitutional duties, far below even Bauchi.
“The ranking did not come as a surprise; it’s a grim validation of what Imo has become,” he said.
The factional NUJ chairperson said journalists in Imo State face what he termed “orchestrated hazards and hardships,” which make their work an “uphill task.”
“Imo has become synonymous with hostility, insecurity, and danger for journalists and media professionals. This report paints a disturbing picture of tyranny and despotism silencing the press,” he lamented.
Why press freedom worsened in Imo
Mr Nwadike attributed Imo State’s abysmal ranking to “deliberate factionalisation of media bodies, including NUJ and the Correspondents Chapel in the state.
The factional chairperson accused the Commissioner for Information in Imo State, Declan Emelumba, of being responsible for the factionalisation of the media bodies in the state.
“Attempts to handpick union leadership and impose Correspondents’ Chapel heads point to a desperate desire to control and bridle the press,” he alleged.
He further accused Mr Emelumba of instigating strife among journalists, blocking media access to the state governor, Hope Uzodinma, and attempting to use police operatives to intimidate journalists refusing to comply with unethical roles.
“In the main, the CJID report serves as an international indictment of press freedom conditions in Imo State. It vindicates the persistent warnings from the Imo NUJ and vocal citizens who have faced intimidation,” he said.
‘Our Demands’
Mr Nwadike said the NUJ in Imo State has demanded that the state government take immediate and concrete steps to reverse the dangerous trend, guarantee journalists’ safety, uphold press freedom and hold those responsible for the repression accountable.
“Whatever be the case, hostility to journalists is hostility to truth, justice, and the fundamental rights of all Imo residents. It is an assault on our shared humanity and public sensibility.
“This report further indicates that truth cannot be hidden and should serve as a call-out to all defenders of democracy: Imo State must end its war on journalism,” he stated.
Commissioner defends self
When contacted on Tuesday morning, Mr Emelumba refuted the allegations, but noted that, contrary to his claim, Mr Nwadike is not the chairperson of the NUJ in Imo State.
The commissioner said he only recognised those that the national leadership of the NUJ recognised.
On the alleged factionalisation of the Correspondents Chapel in Imo, Mr Emelumba explained that trouble started when the immediate past chairperson of the chapel allegedly colluded with others to sell a bus which the state governor, Mr Uzodinma, gifted them.
READ ALSO: Gunmen kill two police operatives in fresh Imo attack
He said the state government consequently recovered the bus from the buyer before some members of the chapel set up a committee to probe the sale.
The commissioner stressed that some of the members later said they had reconstituted the committee as a caretaker body to run the chapel, which the NUJ national body opposed.
“The NUJ national body said that since the chapel chairperson has resigned, they recognise the vice chairman to act as chairman pending another election.
“So, all we did was to recognise who the national NUJ recognised as the acting chairman of the chapel. We handed over the recovered bus to the acting chairman,” he said.
He was, however, silent on the allegation of blocking journalists’ access to the governor and using police operatives to intimidate journalists.
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