By IPS Correspondents
ABUJA, Nov 17 2000 (IPS)

Professional media groups in Nigeria are seeking the harmonisation of all laws governing the practice to remove duplication, contradictions and other inconsistencies.

A 13-chapter draft law prepared by the NGO-Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and media groups, including the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigerian Union of Journalists, formed the basis of a two- day meeting here among all stakeholders in the industry.

The meeting was a follow up to the two previous fora held by the MRA with the support of Article 19 in 1997 and 1999 at which the inadequacies of the institutional and legal framework of Nigerian media practice were exposed.

“Laws which affect media are scattered across the statute books in a manner that defies logical analysis,” according to MRA Executive Director Edetaen Ojo,’ ‘some of these laws either duplicate each other or overlap”.

The idea of the draft law, – the Nigerian Media Law – is aimed at harmonising all such laws into one single document “to make them more accessible and more coherent,” Ojo said.

Ojo recalled that ‘obnoxious decrees” were used as tools for the oppression of the media during military rule, a practice which fell below international standards for the protection of the media.

And although democracy subsists now in Nigeria, “the media still operates under virtually the same framework, which existed during the years of military rule and is thus subject to nearly the same legal disabilities of that period”.

It is the contention of the Executive Director that the success of democracy in Nigeria is predicated on “the ability of the Nigerian media to operate in an atmosphere free of censorship.”

Ojo and representatives of media groups at the meeting are confident that the country’s two-Chamber Legislature will lend its support given the enthusiasm that has greeted the Freedom of Information Bill currently awaiting its third and final reading in the House of Representatives. Its passage will allow for its consideration by the Senate.

Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu believes that the passage of the bill and the harmonisation of other media laws was essential for democracy to thrive. “…guaranteeing the freedom of the press is tantamount to guaranteeing the rights and privileges of all other members of society”.

Mantu acknowledged that the country and legislators are reaping the fruits of the struggles made by the media during military rule which saw the proscription of several publications.

Several journalists jailed by the Abacha regime have filed complaints before the newly-created Human Rights Violation Investigating Panel in a bid to get restitution.

A state pardon for the journalists, especially those jailed with President Olusegun Obasanjo in the phantom 1995 coup against Abacha has been criticised by the recipients who argue that pardon can only be given if an offence was committed.

Inspite of the pain endured under the military by journalists, Mantu, the Deputy Senate President, has not ruled out the need for a set of rules to govern media practice. His reason: “the unguarded excesses of some media owners and practitioners”.

A communique issued at the end of the meeting spoke of the need for a “a single law on media in Nigeria to govern the print and broadcast media”.

Under the umbrella law proposed by the MRA, in conjunction with the professional groups, “there should be no provisions to punish criminal defamation and seditious publications and as such the present provisions in the laws in these regard should be repealed”, the communique said.

The participants also agreed that “the provisions relating to obscene publication should be retained with substantial modifications.” The modifications suggested include a clearer definition of obscenity that does not restrict freedom of information flow and protects the rights of minors.

“Journalists and members of the news media should be protected against compulsory disclosure of sources of information and journalistic materials which may reveal the sources”, the communique also canvassed.

Subsumed in the proposed law are legislations establishing regulatory bodies such as the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission which supervises the licensing and broadcasts of the electronic media and that of the Nigerian Press Council, the ombudsman between the public and the print media.

The law establishing the Press Council has been the subject of controversy and litigation between government and the professional groups. The law, itself an amendment of an earlier one was promulgated in the dying days of the military government of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.

The professional groups, under the aegis of the Nigerian Press Organisation, contend that the new law did not represent the agreement reached in 1998 between them and the government.

The law, the groups argue, contains provisions for the establishment of a newspaper registration commission contrary to section 39 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

The section states that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”.

Following subsequent litigation and refusal of the professional groups to send representatives to the Council, the government began negotiations to amicably resolve the impasse.

The new draft regulation is being considered by the professional groups–the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigerian Union of Journalists.

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