Press Attack
Database of attacks on the Media/Freedom of Expression
Perpetrators of attacks
Gender of victims
Location of attacks
Type of incidents
| Name | Gender | Date of Incident | Type of Incident | Location | Media Type | Perpetrator | Excerpt | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Dan Atori | Male | November 21, 2025 | Threats | Niger | Not stated | Unknown Individual | Mr Dan Atori, a journalist and media aide to the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Niger State, Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, has reported that he is currently facing threats from unknown individuals. According to media reports, the intimidation began after he reported the November 21, 2025, attack on Papiri schools, where suspected terrorists abducted more than 300 pupils and staff members. | |
| Media personnel | Mixed | February 11, 2026 | Assault | Edo | Different media outlet | An aide to the Edo State Governor | Mrs Juliet Enabulele-Asein, a female journalist with the Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS), and a cameraman, Mr. Bright Osifo, were attacked by an aide to the Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, Mr Kelly Okungbowa, popularly known as Ebo Stone. | |
| Mr Izunna Okafor | Male | December 10, 2025 | Detention | Anambra | Not stated | security personnel | An Anambra-based journalist, Mr Izunna Okafor, was harassed and briefly detained on December 10, 2025, by security personnel at the entrance of the Anambra State House of Assembly Complex in Awka while he was on an official assignment to the legislative body to cover the budget defence of the State’s Commissioner for Power and Water Resources, Mr. Julius Chukwuemeka. | |
| Omoyele Sowore | Male | December 25, 2025 | Summoned | Federal Capital Territory (FCT) | Sahara Reporters | Department of State Services (DSS) | On November 25, 2025, the Department of State Services (DSS) arraigned Mr Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, at the Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly cyberbullying President Bola Tinubu. Appearing before Justice Mohammed Umar, Sowore pleaded not guilty, while his lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, challenged the competency of the charge when the matter was called for his plea. | |
| Mr Tega Oghenedoro | Male | December 4, 2025 | Invasion | Federal Capital Territory (FCT) | Not stated | Jonathan Towuru | Policemen from the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), led by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jonathan Towuru, on December 4, 2025, stormed the Abuja office of investigative journalist, Mr Tega Oghenedoro, popularly known as Fejiro Oliver, in a renewed attempt to arrest him. | |
| Mr Zaccheaus Ukhueleigbe | Male | February 6, 2026 | Detention | Lagos | Not stated | Hon. Benjamin Olabinjo | Mr Zaccheaus Ukhueleigbe, a Lagos-based journalist, was in October 2025, lured into a trap under the guise of a scheduled interview with Hon. Benjamin Olabinjo, the member representing Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, and arrested by policemen after he published an investigative report that alleged the House member received over N350 million for constituency projects that were never executed. | |
| Mr John Okunyomih | Male | October 20, 2025 | Arrest | Federal Capital Territory (FCT) | Agence France-Presse | Police Men | On October 20, 2025, officers of the Nigeria Police Force arrested Mr John Okunyomih, a video journalist with Agence France-Presse (AFP), while he was covering the #FreeNnamdiKanu protests outside the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja. The policemen took the journalist to the Force Headquarters in Garki, where he was detained. | |
| Media Personnel | Mixed | October 20, 2025 | Assassination attempt | Federal Capital Territory (FCT) | BusinessDay TV | Police Men | Policemen on October 20, 2025, fired teargas canisters at a BusinessDay TV media crew comprising Tony Ailemen, Tunde Adeniyi, Ladi Patrick-Okwoli, and Michael Godwin who were covering the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protests at the Central Business District in Abuja, shattering the windshield of their vehicle. | |
| Mr Ibrahim Abubakar Ishaq | Male | October 18, 2025 | Arrest | Kano | Dan’uwa Rano TV | Police Men | On October 18, 2025, Mr Ibrahim Abubakar Ishaq, a journalist with an online platform, Dan’uwa Rano TV, was arrested by the Zone 1 Headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in Kano State following a petition alleging defamation of character made by Mr Abdullahi Rogo, the Director-General of Protocol to Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State, against him. | |
| Mr Ogbonna Chukwu | Male | October 11, 2025 | Assault | Kaduna | Channels TV Cameraman | operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps | On October 11, 2025, operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kaduna State Command, assaulted and rough-handled a Channels TV Cameraman, Mr Ogbonna Chukwu, while the journalist was attempting to access the venue of the turbaning ceremony of former Vice-President, Mr Namadi Sambo, by the Emir of Zazzau, Amb. Ahmed Bamalli, in Zaria, Kaduna State. |