*Eno, Egbetokun, Bago
The International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria has placed the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and two state governors—Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger—on its newly unveiled Book of Infamy for actions deemed hostile to press freedom.
The publication was launched on Tuesday by Vice President Kashim Shettima during the second annual IPI Nigeria Conference in Abuja.
According to the institute, the trio are the first set of public officials to be documented in the book, which highlights individuals whose conduct undermines journalists’ rights and media independence.
IPI Nigeria said IGP Egbetokun was listed for failing to curb the arbitrary arrests and harassment of journalists by police operatives, despite repeated appeals from the organisation. Governor Eno was blacklisted for barring Channels Television reporters from covering activities inside the Akwa Ibom Government House, while Governor Bago made the list for ordering the shutdown of Badeggi FM, a privately owned radio station in Niger State.
The institute noted that despite its interventions urging the two governors to reverse the decisions—actions it said they had no lawful authority to take—both men refused to comply.
In contrast, IPI honoured the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, describing him as a responsive and reform-minded security chief. The institute commended him for correcting rights violations brought to his attention, including facilitating the removal of Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of the International Press Centre, from a government watchlist after 40 years.
Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, who served as Special Guest at the conference, reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to a free and independent press. He said security agencies now operate under stricter protocols designed to safeguard journalists, especially in conflict zones and during protests.
“Let me state without ambiguity that the Tinubu administration operates on the principle that a sure-footed, critical and independent press is the central nervous system of a functioning democracy,” he said.
Idris added that government remains committed to creating an enabling environment for media organisations to operate without fear, intimidation, or undue restrictions.
