In commemoration of the 2026 World Press Freedom Day, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have intensified their advocacy for human rights and media protection amid rising insecurity in the country.
They spoke at a news conference and interactive session, titled: “The Role of the Media in Promoting People’s Rights, Accountability, and Access to Justice in the Context of Growing Insecurity in Nigeria.”
The conference on Saturday in Lagos was jointly organised by SERAP and NGE to mark the 2026 World Press Freedom Day.
The event underscored the critical role of the press in advancing human rights, including people’s rights to safety and security, ensuring accountability for perpetrators, and improving access to justice and effective remedies for victims.
It also highlighted the importance of victim-centred reporting, ethical storytelling, and the general role of the media in amplifying victims’ voices and promoting accountability and justice.
The Deputy Director of SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare, read a joint statement calling on the authorities to protect journalists and address insecurity.
Oluwadare said: “Protecting journalists and safeguarding information integrity are central drivers of peace, security and democratic stability.
“Any credible peace recovery or security strategy must integrate information integrity and support for free, independent and realistic media alongside humanitarian, institutional and economic responses.”
Oluwadare warned that insecurity continues to erode fundamental rights and public trust.
He said, “Insecurity itself is a breach of human rights. And it’s also an enabler of the continued breach of human rights. And how can we even talk about the right to life? The right to freedom of expression? When even the very life we have is threatened daily.”
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He added that delays in responding to Freedom of Information requests undermine transparency.
The SERAP official also raised concerns about growing attacks and displacement across parts of the country.
He said: “We are seriously concerned about the scale of persistence of the killings, the abductions, the sexual violence, forced displacements and destruction of property, and the deepening governance and anonymity crisis.”
Oluwadare stressed that addressing insecurity requires accountability and institutional reform.
He said: “Addressing insecurity in Nigeria requires more than a reactive response. It demands a sustained commitment to accountability, to transparency, and human rights.
“It requires embedding these principles into governance and security frameworks.”
The Assistant General Secretary of the NGE, Gabriel Akinadewo, outlined recommendations of the groups to the government.
Akindewo said authorities must be able to “guarantee freedom of the press and freedom of expression as provided in the 1999 constitution as amended.
“Protect civil speech and journalists, as well as promote victim-centred ethical media reporting.
“Take immediate and systemic actions, including by preventing intelligence-led and community-based security measures in high-risk areas.
“Publicly acknowledge that widespread killings, abductions, and destruction of property constitute violations of the rights to life, dignity, security, and property, and cannot be justified under any circumstances.
“Ensure prompt, thorough, independent, impartial, transparent, and effective investigations into all reported grave human rights violations and abuses.
“Identify and prosecute perpetrators and their sponsors, including those who may have aided, enabled, or failed to prevent the violations, despite prior knowledge of risk, and respond to networks responsible for attacks.
“Ensure access to justice and effective remedies to victims and their families, including adequate monetary compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, and guarantees of known reputation and social support.
“Improve transparency around security operations and accountability processes.
“Fully implement constitutional and international human rights obligations.
“Develop and implement a robust legal and institutional framework to prevent future violations, including early warning systems and protection for at-risk communities.
“Create a public registry or reporting system documenting incidents, responses, and accountability measures to strengthen oversight and citizen trust.
“Direct all relevant agencies to respect, protect, promote, and fulfill human rights in line with Nigeria’s domestic and international legal commitments.
“We further urge the Governor-General’s Administration and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to extend formal invitations to relevant mandate holders of the United Nations Human Rights Council, particularly special rapporteurs with relevant mandates, and to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights special rapporteurs to undertake fact-finding visits to Nigeria.
“Such visits should focus on documenting the scale and patterns of insecurity across the country, particularly in several parts of northern Nigeria, and the resulting grave human rights violations and abuses, including killings, abductions, sexual violence, torture, and enforced disappearances.
“The findings of these independent mechanisms should inform concrete recommendations on accountability, justice, and remedies for victims, as well as structural reforms to prevent further violations.
“We also urge the National Assembly to exercise its constitutional oversight responsibilities under Sections 88 and 89 of the Nigerian Constitution by convening a non-judge public hearing on the security and the growing pattern of attacks on journalists and media freedom in Nigeria.
“Such a hearing should examine the role of security agencies, regulatory bodies, and other state actors in grave human rights violations and failing to protect journalists and other citizens reporting on insecurity with a view to strengthening accountability, justice, and legislative safeguards.
“We also call on the international community to reinforce pressure on Nigerian authorities and put federal and state levers to take urgent and concrete steps to end the escalating insecurity and entrenched impunity driving widespread human rights violations across the country.
“We further urge the international community to encourage and put pressure on the Nigerian authorities to prioritize the protection of people, including journalists, in conflict-affected and high-risk areas, and to ensure that civil space is safeguarded so that journalists, human rights defenders, and media organizations can report freely and safely on their security and human rights violations without fear of harassment or reprisals.”
In conclusion, Akinadewo said the NGE and SERAP “urge the international community to continue engaging Nigerian authorities to ensure full implementation of their constitutional and international human rights obligations, including commitments to respect, protect, promote, and fulfill fundamental rights, and to adopt sustainable rights-based responses to insecurity that prioritize justice, accountability, and the protection of victims over impunity and repression.”
Earlier in his opening remarks, the NGE President, Eze Anaba, emphasised that victims of terrorism deserve structured support, justice, dignity, opportunities for healing and reintegration.
Eze said: “There’s a growing talk that terrorists should be arrested, tried and all that. But nobody is talking about justice for the victims of these terrorists.
“There are a greater number of people out there who have been victimised, who have been dehumanised, by these acts of terrorism all over the place. We should be there for them.
“These people deserve to be compensated. These people deserve to be treated like humans.
“So, we should remind ourselves that at a time like this in our country, the media has a role to give voice to the voiceless.
“That is the challenge the World Press Freedom Day has given us.”
