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RSF: 488 journalists, including 60 women in detention worldwide

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RSF: 488 journalists, including 60 women in detention worldwide

RSF: 488 journalists, including 60 women in detention worldwide

By: Babagana Bukar Wakil, Maiduguri 

A record number of 488 journalists, including 60 women are currently detained worldwide, while another 65 are being held hostage.

This is contained in an annual round up report published by Reporters without Borders’, RSF.

Also reports said 46 journalists were killed in 2021. This according to the report is the lowest in 20 years.

The number of journalists detained in connection with their work has never been this high since RSF began publishing its annual round-up in 1995. 

RSF logged a total of 488 journalists and media workers in prison in mid-December 2021, or 20% more than the number at the same time last year.

This exceptional surge in arbitrary detention is due, above all, to three countries includes Myanmar, where the military retook power in a coup on 1 February 2021, Belarus, which has seen a major crackdown since Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed reelection in August 2020, and Xi Jinping’s China, which is tightening its grip on Hong Kong, the special administrative region once seen as a regional model of respect for press freedom.

RSF said it has also never previously registered so many female journalists in prison, with a total of 60 currently detained in connection with their work. This stood at 33% more than what it stood at this time last year.

China, the world’s biggest jailer of journalists for the fifth year running, is also the biggest jailer of female journalists, with 19 currently detained. They include Zhang Zhan, a 2021 RSF Press Freedom laureate, who is now critically ill.

Belarus is currently holding more female journalists (17) and male (15). They include two reporters for the Poland-based independent Belarusian TV channel Belsat   Daria Chultsova and Katsiaryna Andreyeva who were sentenced to two years in a prison camp for providing live coverage of an unauthorized demonstration.

53 journalists and media workers detained in Myanmar, nine of them being women.

“The extremely high number of journalists in arbitrary detention is the work of three dictatorial regimes,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. “It is a reflection of the reinforcement of dictatorial power worldwide, an accumulation of crises, and the lack of any scruples on the part of these regimes.

According to RSF, “The surge may also be the result of new geopolitical power relationships in which authoritarian regimes are not being subjected to enough pressure to curb their crackdowns.

“Another striking feature of this year’s round-up is the fall in the number of journalists killed in connection with their work 46 from 1 January to 1 December 2021. 

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“You have to go back to 2003 to find another year with fewer than 50 journalists killed. This year’s fall is mostly due to a decline in the intensity of conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen as well as the continuing campaigns by press freedom organisations, including RSF, for the implementation of international and national mechanisms aimed at protecting journalists.

“Nonetheless, despite this remarkable fall, an average of nearly one journalist a week is still being killed in connection with their work. And RSF has established that 65% of the journalists killed in 2021 were deliberately targeted and eliminated.

“Mexico and Afghanistan are again the two deadliest countries, with seven journalists killed in Mexico and six in Afghanistan. Yemen and India share third place, with four journalists killed in each country.”

In addition to these figures, the 2021 round-up also mentions some of the year’s most striking cases. This year’s longest prison sentence, 15 years, was handed down to both Ali Aboluhom in Saudi Arabia and Pham Chi Dung in Vietnam.

The longest and most Kafkaesque trials are being inflicted on Amadou Vamoulké in Cameroon and Ali Anouzla in Morocco.

The oldest detained journalists are Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong and Kayvan Samimi Behbahani in Iran, who are 74 and 73 years old. The French journalist Olivier Dubois was the only foreign journalist to be abducted this year. He has been held hostage in Mali since 8 April.

Since 1995, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has been compiling annual round-ups of violence and abuses against journalists based on precise data gathered from 1 January to 1 December of the year in question.

The 2021 round-up figures include professional journalists, non-professional journalists and media /workers.

“We gather detailed information that allows us to affirm with certainty or a great deal of confidence that the detention, abduction, disappearance or death of each journalist was a direct result of their journalistic work. Our methodology may explain differences between our figures and those of other organisations.” RSF observed.

RSF: 488 journalists, including 60 women in detention worldwide

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President Tinubu Storms Jos Today To Commiserate With Residents Of Angwa Rukuba Massacre

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President Tinubu Storms Jos Today To Commiserate With Residents Of Angwa Rukuba Massacre

By: Bodunrin Kayode

President Bola Tinubu will today visit the Plateau state capital Jos to commiserate with residents who lost loved ones during the Palm Sunday shooting spree by criminals that took place at Angwa rukuba area of the city.

The President who was scheduled to visit Ogun state postponed his scheduled trip to Iperu, meant to flag off operations at the Gateway International Cargo Airport.

From the Plateau, the President is expected to travel to Lagos to observe Good Friday public holiday which ushers the beginning of the Easter public holiday which rounds up the lent period.

A state house release signed yesterday by the Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga noted that President Tinubu will travel to Ogun State for the commissioning of the Cargo Airport and the inauguration of two commercial aircrafts for the export and import of goods, aimed at boosting the state’s economic growth on Saturday April 4th.

“He will also inaugurate the new edifice of the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigerian Customs Service and its operational vehicles.

“He will return to Lagos to continue the Easter holiday, during which he is also expected to commission infrastructural projects undertaken by the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“These projects include: the iconic Ojota/Opebi Link Bridge; the Lagos State Geographic Information System Building; the Multi-Agency Complex named after the President, and a school Complex.

“Before returning to Abuja, President Tinubu will visit Bayelsa State on April 10 to commission some of Governor Duoye Diri’s completed projects.” Said the release.

Sadly several residents lost their lives during the black Palm Sunday shooting spree which is suspected to have been carried out by auto bike riding bandits following after their patterns in the hinterlands of the state.

These bandits who had tormented, killed and destroyed homes of residences of the Jos north axis of the state for several years after September 7th 2001

This damnation let loose on innocent residents is resurfacing after hundreds of killings had occurred in the Jos North council area of the state from September 7th 2001 till date.

And because of the myriad of challenges creeping into the federal security system sub regionals have geared up to manage their on police and Intel services which would assist greatly because they are masters of their territories.

The Federal government is fast tracking the process of state police to ensure that each sub nationals take charge of their environment to ensure that they support the center in the maintenance of internal security.

President Tinubu Storms Jos Today To Commiserate With Residents Of Angwa Rukuba Massacre

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NiMet predicts 107 to 138 days of rainfall in Gombe

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NiMet predicts 107 to 138 days of rainfall in Gombe

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has said that in 2026, the length of the rainy season in Gombe State is expected to be between 107 and 138 days.

This is contained in the Agency’s 2026 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) document, which Gayus Musa, the meteorological manager for Gombe State, made available to Our Correspondent in Gombe on Tuesday.

The total amount of rainfall across Gombe State in 2026 is predicted to be between 701 mm in the northern part of the state (Nafada) and 1089 mm in the South (Shongom).

The onset of the rainfall is expected to commence in the state on May 29 (Shongom) and cease by October 22 (Yamaltu/Deba).

Similarly, in the prediction, four local government areas of the state, namely: Nafada, Yamaltu/Deba, Dukku and Funakaye were likely to be impacted by a severe dry spell (21 days and above) between June and August.

Musa while speaking to Our Correspondent on the first rainfall experienced in some communities in Akko, Gombe and Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Areas of the state on Monday urged farmers to resist the temptation of early planting of crops.

He described the first rain as false onset, explaining that the rainfall was false because it would not support any germination as seeds planted with such rain would not survive.

“This (first rain) is a false onset because the precipitation cannot carry any germination and so any seed planted would not survive.

“So farmers should not engage themselves in planting but to prepare their farmlands while getting their seeds and other inputs ready,” he said.

Musa advised farmers in the state, to make use of the prediction in carrying out farming activities towards avoiding losses in view of the impact of climate change on agriculture.

He further urged relevant authorities in the state to take proactive measures towards tackling environmental issues associated with the rainy season.

NiMet predicts 107 to 138 days of rainfall in Gombe

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Tuggar Resigns from Tinubu’s Cabinet, Sets for Bauchi Governorship

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Tuggar Resigns from Tinubu’s Cabinet, Sets for Bauchi Governorship

By: Michael Mike

The rumoured interest of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar in becoming the governor of Bauchi State come 2027 may have been confirmed he resigned on Monday to prepared ground for actualization of his political ambition.

The resignation was ahead of the deadline set for political appointees seeking elective positions in the forthcoming general elections.

In a resignation letter submitted to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Tuggar expressed profound gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the opportunity to serve the country and contribute to the implementation of the administration’s Four-D foreign policy strategy.

The former minister also appreciated the management and staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and members of the diplomatic community for their cooperation and support throughout his tenure.

During his time in office, Tuggar was credited with advancing Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives through initiatives focused on people-centred diplomacy. These included humanitarian evacuations, facilitation of scholarships for Nigerians abroad, and sustained support for citizens in the diaspora.

His tenure also witnessed increased diaspora engagement, including efforts to develop a structured database of Nigerians living abroad aimed at strengthening their participation in national development.

In addition, Tuggar strengthened bilateral and multilateral relations through strategic engagements with traditional partners and regional alliances, particularly across the Global South. His leadership also promoted regional security cooperation and supported the formation of the Regional Partnership for Democracy initiative.

He also prioritised economic diplomacy, positioning Nigeria as an attractive destination for foreign investment, especially in the energy sector, while facilitating diplomatic interventions that secured the release of detained Nigerians in foreign countries and improved bilateral relations.

The resignation letter was received on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation by Dr. Abubakar Kana, Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, ahead of the March thirty-first deadline directed by President Tinubu in line with provisions of the Electoral Act.

Tuggar’s resignation was conveyed in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir.

Tuggar Resigns from Tinubu’s Cabinet, Sets for Bauchi Governorship

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