The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has warned that it would no longer tolerate the abuse of the Cybercrime Act (Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act by law enforcement agents, particularly the police.
At the end of its Standing Committee meeting recently in Jos, the Plateau State capital, Nigeria’s elite professional body of Managing Directors, Directors of News and Editors in print, broadcast, news agency and online organisations, threatened to ‘use all legal means to ensure the protection of the fundamental human rights of journalists, freedom of the press and freedom of expression’.
According to a communiqué by NGE’s President, Mr. Eze Anaba; and General Secretary, Mr. Onuoha Ukeh, the Guild raised concern that the purported enforcement of the Act had led to the harassment, intimidation, ‘arrest and illegal detention of journalists who are exercising their rights to freedom of the press and thereby undermining democracy and the rule of law’.
The NGE also expressed concerns about the ‘increasing excesses of political actors, both in government and the opposition’, and called on them to address national issues and governance instead of personal attacks and name-calling.
It reminded all tiers of government that the ‘main purpose of governance is to address fundamental issues bordering on citizens’ socio-economic wellbeing and security, urging them to focus on governance and stop talking about future elections when they have not fulfilled their Social Contract in the subsisting term of office’.
The professional body also urged the Federal Government and the security agencies to be more proactive and effective in tackling banditry, insurgency, kidnapping, herder-farmer clashes and other vices.
The communiqué (in full)
The Standing Committee of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the elite professional body of Managing Directors, Directors of News and Editors in print, broadcast, news agency and online organization in Nigeria, met on September 17, 2025 in Jos, Plateau State and after robust deliberations on critical issues affecting the media, governance and the society resolved as follows:
1. Strongly condemns the abuse of the Cybercrime Act (Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act by law enforcement agents, particularly the police, to harass, intimidate, arrest and illegally detain journalists who are exercising their rights to freedom of the press and thereby undermining democracy and the rule of law. The Guild will no longer tolerate this abuse and will use all legal means to ensure the protection of the fundamental human rights of journalists, freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
2. Calls for a thorough review of the Cybercrime Act and its use for the original intension, which is to fight cybercrime in relation to financial fraud, identity theft and attacks on computer systems, among others.
3. Reminds security agencies that the Ombudsman process instituted by the Nigerian Press Organisation is capable of addressing infractions to the Code of Journalism Ethics as has been proven in the past. Security agencies should respect this process by encouraging those who write petitions and making them the arbiter to approach the Ombudsman or seek legal redress instead of making security agencies tool of oppression, intimidation and harassment.
4. Calls on journalists to do their job with high level of professionalism by adhering to the Code of Ethics approved by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) and not to engage in any form of blackmail, and defamation whatsoever.
5. Expresses concerns about the increasing excesses of political actors, both in government and the opposition, and calls on them to address national issues and governance instead of personal attacks and name-calling. The conduct of politicians is worrisome, whether in government or the opposition. They should desist from personal attacks and name calling. They should address issues of governance and proffer solutions. Careless talks heat up the polity, incite people, instigate crisis and are capable of causing breach of peace and security of the nation. This should stop forthwith.
6. Reminds the three tiers of government — Federal, state and local governments — that the main purpose of governance is to address fundamental issues bordering on citizens’ socio-economic wellbeing and security, urging them to focus on governance and stop talking about future elections when they have not fulfilled their Social Contract in the subsisting term of office.
7. Urges the Federal Government and the security agencies to be more proactive and effective in tackling banditry, insurgency, kidnapping, herder-farmer clashes and other vices, for the purposes of saving lives, boosting food security and creating a more conducive environment for Nigerian citizens wherever they live.
8. Expresses thanks to the Plateau State governor, Caleb Muftwang, for playing host to editors and for striving to better the lives of the people and ensure a cordial relationship among all ethnic groups in the state.
