Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria has a rich and diverse media landscape. The print media have been in sharp decline in recent years but there are still around 100 publications, of which The Punch, The Nation, Vanguard, Guardian and Premium Times are the most well-known. The majority of the 36 states also have a state-owned daily newspaper that is directly controlled by local authorities. There are several hundred radio stations and TV channels alongside international media. The great popularity of social media has helped to diversify the media landscape but has also contributed to disinformation.

The level of governmental interference in the news media is significant. It can involve pressure, harassment of journalists and media outlets, and even censorship. This interference is even stronger during electoral campaigns. Addressing political issues in a balanced way can also be difficult depending on the media outlet’s owner. The authorities also make arbitrary decisions, such as the destruction in September 2023 of two private media transmitters in the southeast of the country. In May 2023, a federal high court suspended a decision of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the broadcasting regulator, to suspend around 50 radio stations for failing to pay their licence fees. 

The constitution protects freedom of expression and opinion, but there are many laws whose provisions make it possible to obstruct the work of journalists, such as the laws on anti-terrorism and state secrets, and the penal code continues to treat defamation as a crime. Despite timid attempts to promote press freedom by amending certain articles of the cybercrime law in 2024, at least eight journalists have since been wrongfully prosecuted, arrested, or detained under this legislation, which poses a threat to investigative journalism. Access to information remains very difficult.

While there are many media outlets, very few are in good economic health. Significant salary delays make journalists vulnerable to corruption and cash for coverage. Like politicians, businesspeople and companies that provide advertising revenue can have an influence on editorial content. 

It is very difficult to cover political stories involving terrorism or financial embezzlement by those in power or conflicts between communities, as demonstrated by the threats, attacks, detentions, and prosecutions faced by investigative journalists — particularly those from the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), a network of journalists that specialise in exposing corruption in the country. Media outlets have been the targets of attacks based on religion, gender, and ethnicity.

Nigeria is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in West Africa. Electoral periods continue to bring significant violence against media professionals. In August 2024, around thirty journalists were assaulted, arrested and targeted with tear gas or gunfire while covering the social protests shaking the country. Crimes committed against journalists continue to go unpunished, even when the perpetrators are known or apprehended. There is almost no state mechanism for protection. In fact, the authorities keep investigative journalists under close surveillance and do not hesitate to threaten and arbitrarily detain them.