The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken legal action against the administration led by President Bola Tinubu concerning the “unlawful ban and withdrawal of accreditation from 25 journalists and media organizations, preventing them from covering activities at the Presidential Villa.”

Reports indicate that on August 18, 2023, the Federal Government revoked the accreditation tags of 25 journalists and media houses, effectively barring them from covering events at the Presidential Villa in Abuja….CONTINUE READING

These journalists were instructed to surrender their accreditation tags at the main entrance of the Presidential Villa.

SERAP contends that this ban does not meet the criteria of legality, necessity, and proportionality.

In a lawsuit filed under number FHC/L/CS/1766/23 at the Federal High Court in Lagos, SERAP is seeking an order to compel President Tinubu to reverse the revocation of accreditations and the ban on these journalists and media outlets from covering the Presidential Villa.

Additionally, SERAP is requesting a perpetual injunction to prevent President Tinubu or any other authority, individual, or group from arbitrarily and unilaterally revoking accreditations of journalists and media houses at the Presidential Villa.

They are also seeking a declaration that the withdrawal of accreditation tags and the ban on these journalists and media houses, without lawful justification, infringe upon the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, participation, and media freedom.

SERAP argues that if the ban is not overturned, it could set a dangerous precedent for arbitrariness and undermine people’s fundamental rights to freedom of expression, access to information, participation, and media freedom.

The organization also contends that the withdrawal of accreditation from the journalists lacks lawful justification and is inconsistent with the principles of a democratic society, which values diversity of voices, non-discrimination, and the public interest.

The lawsuit, filed by SERAP’s legal team consisting of Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), Kolawole Oluwadare, and Ms. Valentina Adegoke, underscores the vital role of the media in facilitating freedom of expression and access to information in a democratic society. It emphasizes that a free, independent, diverse, and pluralistic media is indispensable for the proper functioning of a democratic society.