‘SLAPP Suits Biggest Threat to Media Organisations in Nigeria’

Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano

The International Press Institute (IPI) has trained senior journalists on how to avoid smart Strategic Laws Against Public Participation (SLAPP), describing it as one of the biggest threats facing several media organisations in the country.

Delivering an opening address at a training session yesterday in Kano, the President of the IPI Nigeria, Musikilu Mojeed, said the damage done by SLAPP has far-reaching effects on media professionals in the country.

The training workshop with the theme: ‘Training for Senior Journalists on How to Avoid SLAPP Suits and Remain Ethical, with a Focus on Media Law Ethics, Fact Checking’, was organised by the International Press Institute with the support of MacArthur Foundation.

Mojeed lamented how some journalists have been routinely harassed, assaulted, incarcerated, and sometimes killed, referring to the 2022 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Nigeria which reports that Nigeria is ranked 129th out of 180 countries surveyed, scoring just 46.79 points.

According to him, the ranking described Nigeria as one of West Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists, who are often spied on, attacked, arbitrarily arrested, or even killed.

“But one of the biggest threats facing several key media organisations in the country at this time is the challenge of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). These are lawsuits directed at media organisations or activists with the sole purpose of silencing them.

“They typically involve a huge disparity in resources and the claimant’s tactic is to use the lawsuit or threat of a lawsuit, to divert a journalist or media organisation’s resources,” a 2022 report by the National Endowment for Democracy noted.

It added: “Cases are reported in increasing numbers across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The damage done by SLAPPs is far-reaching and curbing it is an imperative for media freedom.”

“Several media outlets are being suffocated by SLAPP. In recent times, at least two journalists have been convicted of criminal defamation while two key independent media organisations have had their bank accounts frozen and their operations disrupted as a result of lawsuits.

“While law reform is critical in Nigeria and other countries to solve the problem of SLAPP, IPI Nigeria believes that another sensible response to the challenge would be to equip journalists with the skills they need to produce hard-hitting content that can outsmart legal challenges.”

In his welcome address, the IPI Nigeria Board Chairman, Malam Kabiru Yusuf, who is also the publisher of Daily Trust, reiterated the need for journalists to remain upright as the fourth estate of the realm in giving Nigeria a direction out of the current hardship in the country.

He emphasised the need to do the right thing always to protect the reputation and character of the media, which he said is defined by what it reports.

Yusuf called for a trust fund that would support journalists after their retirement due to their dedication and services to humanity.

In his goodwill message, the Director of MacArthur Foundation in Nigeria, Dr. Cole Shettima, described the work of the IPI as critical to the country’s democracy empowered by vibrant journalism.