The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) has fixed Thursday, 10 November 2022 for the public presentation of its Civic Space Guard media monitoring report titled ‘Hushed voices and the media’s defence of the civic space’.
The report, which assesses civic space infractions in Nigeria as reported in the media over a decade (2012-2022), is a component of the Civic Space Guard project launched in December 2021 with support from the Luminate Group, MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations-Africa (OSF-Africa).
WSCIJ developed the report to raise conversations on the threats to the civic space in Nigeria and reinforce the role of civil society organisations (CSOs), particularly the media as protectors of civic space. Through the media monitoring efforts, infractions were analysed to gauge the occurrence and identify its forms (violent and non-violent), perpetrators, victims/survivors, scenes of incidents and other variables to present the state of civic space in Nigeria.
Zainab Okino- Chairman, Editorial board of BluePrint Newspaper, Yemi Adamolekun- executive director of Enough is Enough and Mary Fatile of Radio Nigeria, Lagos Operations will be contributing to the civic space conversation. Abiodun Omotosho of Nigerian Pilot newspaper and Amara Nwankpa who is the Director Public Policy Initiative at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre and many others key stakeholders within the civic space have also been confirmed for the event.
Attendance at the event is open to journalists, human rights activists, lawyers, security agencies, ministries, departments, civil society organisations and other stakeholders operating within the civic space.
The Civic Space Guard project was designed to fortify the position of the media as an independent protector of the civic space by hosting conversations, carrying out media monitoring on the status of the civic space and rewarding reward reporters who investigate, calling out the impunity of members of the armed forces.
Signed
Motunrayo Alaka
Executive Director/CEO, WSCIJ
