Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has organized a two-day workshop themed “Using the Freedom of Information Act for Investigative Reporting” for journalists from different states across south-east and south-south geo-political zones.
The workshop which held from Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24, 2023, at Bridge Waters Hotel, Enugu was attended by 30 participants made up of media professionals from broadcast, print and online media organizations.
A communique issued at the end of the 2 days training said the objective was to sensitize participating journalists and build their capacity to effectively use the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act for investigative reporting by familiarizing them with the key provisions of the Act and how to make effective use of it to seek and obtain information from public institutions and other relevant entities. It was also aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of investigative reports carried out by media practitioners.
The workshop was organized by Media Rights Agenda with support from the MacArthur
Foundation through the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusion and Accountability (CMEDIA) Project, a multi-level intervention that supports media independence, improved transparency, accountability, and good governance in state and local governments.
The workshop consisted of plenary presentations, brainstorming and break-out sessions
during which different topics were addressed, including: an Overview and Elements of
Investigative Reporting; The Role of Records and Documents in Investigative Reporting;
Understanding the Freedom of Information Act, 2011; The FOI Act and Investigative
Reporting; and How Journalists and the Media Can Use the FOI Act.
Other topics treated are: Fact-checking and Investigative Reporting; Making Requests for
Information Under the Freedom of Information Act; Deciding What Investigative Reports to
Carry Out; Interviews in Investigative Reporting; and How to Present Stories from
Investigative Reporting.
Observations and Recommendations
Participants acknowledged that the usage of the FOI Act by journalists and the media
in general has been less than optimal given its potential benefits to the media sector in
seeking and obtaining information. In order to ensure that the objectives of the Act
are fully realized, the participants made a commitment to use the Act more regularly
and frequently in their reporting and called on all other media practitioners to do the
same.
In addition, the participants noted that the media needs to do a better job of covering
the activities of all public institutions, especially regulatory bodies and agencies, in order to hold them accountable to the public. They therefore urged the media to
regularly scrutinize the activities and finances of public institutions, assess their level
of performance of their functions as well as evaluate their effectiveness in terms of the
achievement of their set goals and objectives.
Although the journalists recognized and acknowledged the importance of
investigative reporting in exposing corruption, abuse of power, and other wrongdoing,
they noted that most media organizations do not have the requisite resources to fund
such investigative reports which can be time-consuming and expensive. Given the
benefits of such reporting to society and in ensuring good governance, they suggested
that other avenues, such as investigative reporting funds and grants, should be
established and made widely available to support journalists conducting investigative
reporting.
The participants observed that journalists across Nigeria, but most notably in the
south east, are witnessing frequent misuse of various laws, particularly the
Cybercrimes Act, by law enforcement agents and government officials to harass them
and constrain the activities of media practitioners. Such laws, they said, should be
amended to include safeguards against their abuse. In the interim, journalists should
be properly sensitized about the existence of such laws, the dangers they pose to
journalism practice as well as measures that journalists and other media practitioners
can take to avoid becoming victims of such laws.
They also expressed concern that journalists are facing increasing threats to their
safety and wellbeing as well as the safety of their family members arising from
powerful figures who are displeased with media reports which expose their
wrongdoing. They said there was therefore a need to provide journalists with
appropriate safety training so that they can properly protect themselves against these
threats. In addition, there should be concerted efforts by governments at different
levels and other stakeholders to prevent attacks against journalists, to protect
journalists who are being threatened or attacked and to ensure that perpetrators of
attacks against journalists are appropriately prosecuted and punished.
Furthermore, the participants noted, in order for journalists and other media workers
to effectively perform the duties and functions imposed on the media by Section 22 of
the Constitution, it is imperative that journalists are able to gather information safely
and that journalists as well as their sources of information are adequately protected
against reprisals and attacks for carrying out their professional duties. Accordingly,
laws should be put in place to protect journalists from being compelled to disclose
their confidential sources of information and to protect journalistic materials and
equipment.
The participants expressed gratitude to Media Rights Agenda for organizing the
workshop and giving them the opportunity to participate in it. They also expressed
their appreciation to the sponsors of the workshop, namely: the MacArthur
Foundation and Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
