The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Nigerian authorities to investigate the detention of journalist Jamil Mabai by the Katsina State Hisbah Corps, a religious police force operating in Katsina, Nigeria.
According to the CPJ, Mabai visited the Hisbah Corps office to interview their spokesperson. On arrival, rather than meeting with the spokesperson, he was detained by the officials, his phone confiscated, and he was threatened with violence. Mabai shared on X (formerly Twitter) that he was told his detainment was due to instructions they received. He emphasized to the officials that detaining a journalist without grounds is a direct violation of press freedom. After an hour, Mabai was released.
Angela Quintal, who is leading CPJ’s Africa program, underscored the need for the accountable parties in Mabai’s detention to face justice. Quintal stated:”Nigerian authorities must credibly investigate this harassment of journalist Jamil Mabai, hold those responsible to account…and ensure journalists can do their work without fear of detention…” She added that Mabai’s detention is symptomatic of broad press freedom violations in Nigeria, where journalists are often harassed, arrested, and intimidated in their line of work.
The Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) also decried Mabai’s arrest . In a statement, the CWPPF said, “Arbitrary arrests and detentions of journalists in the course of their work not only violate the basic principles of democracy but also represent disregard for the rule of law and violate people’s right to access information”.
In Nigeria, journalists are often subject to monitoring, arbitrary arrests, attacks and even killed. On February 22, the CPJ called on Nigerian authorities to comply with a federal high court judgment that mandates investigating and appropriately punishing all attacks against journalists. Quintal noted, “Investigations that deliver justice for slain or attacked journalists would be a demonstration of political will on the part of Nigeria’s government to improve press freedom in the country.”
The full details on the story are available on JURIST – News.