Assessment of Press Freedom and Journalist Safety in North East Nigeria

Press freedom and journalist safety in conflict-affected regions of Nigeria represent critical dimensions of democratic communication infrastructure that have been severely compromised by the Boko Haram insurgency and its aftermath in the North East. This study assessed the state of press freedom and journalist safety practices in Borno and Adamawa States, North East Nigeria. A qualitative mixed-methods design was adopted, combining semi-structured interviews with 18 practising journalists and media managers in Maiduguri and Yola with document analysis of press freedom violation records maintained by the Nigerian Union of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists for the period 2020 to 2023. Thematic analysis was applied to qualitative data. Results revealed that all 18 interviewed journalists had practised self-censorship at least once in the preceding year due to safety concerns. Eight respondents had personally received threats, three had experienced physical attacks, and two had been temporarily detained. Military source relationships were described as highly sensitive by 14 respondents, with information access frequently conditional on submission to informal editorial restrictions. Female journalists faced additional gendered safety challenges in field reporting. Structural support from media organisations for safety training was rated as inadequate by 14 of 18 respondents. The study concludes that journalism in North East Nigeria operates under severe safety constraints with minimal institutional protection, and recommends formalised press safety protocols, threat reporting mechanisms, and government commitment to upholding constitutional press freedom guarantees.

Keywords: press freedom, journalist safety, North East Nigeria, conflict journalism, media freedom