Monturayo Alaka, executive director/CEO, Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, and Solomon Okedara, one of the brightest legal minds in Nigeria, will speak on the X Spaces on May 3 in commemoration of this year’s World Press Freedom Day.
Others who will also speak on Saturday are: Busola Ajibola, deputy director, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), and Jude Egbas, deputy editor, The Cable.
They will speak on the theme, ‘Fighting SLAPP from the Inside Out.’
SLAPP means the Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. It refers to lawsuits brought by individuals and entities to dissuade their critics from continuing to produce negative publicity, according to the Legal Information Institute.
The four speakers will dwell on some of the legal challenges faced by Nigerian journalists in the course of doing their job.
Okedara, who has represented several journalists in courts, is expected to chronicle his experiences while defending the media against lawsuits from powerful individuals and entities.
Others are expected to examine the legal worries faced by journalists on a daily basis while doing their job.
The World Press Freedom Day celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom to evaluate press freedom around the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
A recent report revealed that no fewer than 361 journalists were imprisoned as a result of their work as of December 1, 2024.
This report was based on an annual report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
This number was the second highest on record since the CPJ started collating the data in 1992, following only after 2022 when at least 370 journalists were incarcerated.
According to CPJ data, 361 journalists were behind bars worldwide at the end of 2024 (up from 320 in 2023).
