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The Imo State Government has faulted a recent report which ranked Imo State as the most dangerous place for journalists to operate in Nigeria.
The state’s Commissioner for Information, Declan Emelumba, stated this in a statement forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday.
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The report
The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) launched the CJID Openness Index on Thursday, 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.
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In the report, Imo State was ranked 37th (last) out of the 36 states, including the FCT, with a dismal score of 40.70 per cent, while Bauchi was ranked 35th, with a poor score of 42.69 per cent and Lagos 22nd, with a low score of 48.93 per cent.
Imo govt kicks
In the statement, Mr Emelumba claimed the CJID “demonstrated a lack of the pedigree and essential logistics to conduct a credible assessment of journalism practice” in the country.
The information commissioner also claimed the report was “fraught with fallacies and sensational stunts,” describing it as “biased, jaundiced, unreliable, and absolutely unempirical.”
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“This is a body that has shown zero capacity to execute evidence-driven assessments of media practice in the country.
“Little wonder they churned out a report that failed to adhere to the minimum standard of research, relying instead on hearsay and submissions from opposition elements to tarnish the image of Governor Hope Uzodimma’s administration,” he claimed.
Mr Emelumba argued that the parameters of measurement cited by the report, such as denial of access to information, intimidation, and harassment, were strange to the atmosphere in Imo State.
“If the report met even a modicum of empirical rigour, including interviewing the journalists on the ground, it would have discovered that Imo is one of the most friendly and safest places for the practice of journalism in Nigeria,” he said.
He further argued that the data that informed the report contained inconsistencies, saying it was improper that no official of the Imo State Government was engaged to present the government’s side of the story.
“It would have found out, even from the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, that Governor Uzodimma and his officials are fully accessible and that no journalist in the state has been harassed or intimidated.
The commissioner said the CJID should have consulted the Nigerian Union Journalists (NUJ) in Imo State to confirm that Governor Uzodimma and his officials are accessible to journalists and that no journalist has been harassed or intimidated in the state.
He argued that Mr Uzodimma’s administration has a cordial relationship with journalists in the state, citing the donation of buses and the institution of awards to media bodies in the state as evidence of the harmonious relationship with journalists.
Mr Emelumba claimed that Imo State was missing in an earlier published Press Attack Tracker showing verified journalists’ attacks nationwide.
What NUJ said about CJID’s report
On its part, the NUJ in Imo State also faulted the CJID report.
In a statement on Friday, Ifeanyi Nwanguma, the chairperson of the NUJ in Imo State, said the CJID report does not reflect the cordial relationship between the state government and journalists in the state.
“Contrary to CJID’s findings, journalists in Imo State enjoy a robust and cordial working relationship with the administration of Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma.
“It is on record that journalists in the state can freely approach government agencies for information without fear of harassment or intimidation,” Mr Nwanguma stated.
“Journalists in Imo State also enjoy cordial relations with all security agencies, with zero incidents of intimidation, harassment, or attacks on practitioners,” he stated, urging the CJID team to visit the state for on-the-ground assessments.
Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that a faction of the NUJ said the CJID report did not come as a surprise to the NUJ in the state.
The factional chairperson of the NUJ in Imo State, Precious Nwadike, in a statement forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, 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.
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