A cameraman with Arise Television,  Francis Ogbonna and a journalist with Premium Times, Ebuka Onyeji, were on October 11, 2020 assaulted while covering a news conference where Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu announced the dissolution of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigerian Police. …

The African Platform on Access to Information Working Group (APAI-WG) on September 28, 2020 called on African leaders to ensure that no country is left behind in giving effect to the fundamental importance of access to information as the global community celebrated the first International Day for Universal Access to …

The U.S. State Department has released guidance to assist U.S. companies seeking to prevent their products or services with surveillance capabilities from being misused by foreign government end-users to commit human rights abuses. Announcing the release of the guidance document on September 30, 2020, State Department spokesman, Mr. Morgan Ortagus, noted …

The fight to contain the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is hurting digital rights in Africa, according to the report of a new study released in September, which documents the harms to digital rights and their effects as experienced in various countries on the continent. Titled “State of Internet Freedom in …

Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has welcomed an October 6 resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council on the safety of journalists and called on the Federal Government to give full effect to its provisions, including by bringing all its laws, policies and practices into compliance with its obligations under …

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on October 6, 2020 adopted a resolution on the safety of journalists in which it expressed deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue …

The 2020 Global Legislative Openness Week (GLOW) will be observed  from October 26 to 28, 2020 and will provide an opportunity for diverse stakeholders in parliaments, governments and civil society to collaborate and make progress towards adopting and implementing openness commitments GLOW brings an open, participatory legislative process around the …

Enough is Enough (EIE) Nigeria, a network of individuals and organizations campaigning for good governance in Nigeria, partnered with Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and Spaces4Change to publish on September 17, 2020, an infographic highlighting attacks on freedom of expression and journalists by Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, over the …

Amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken worldwide in response to the outbreak which has had significant implications for human rights, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has issued guidelines on the role of judicial operators in the protection and promotion of the right to …

A journalist with the Abuja Enquirer newspaper, Mr David Lawani, has instituted a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and its Chief Executive Officer,  over the agency’s refusal to accede to his request for information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) …