CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Despite more than a decade of democratic governance and endorsement of universal declaration
of human rights charter, Nigerians still face a lot of human rights abuses. This is because
contrary to democratic ethos, the state is still largely authoritarian in leadership and security
operations (Akhaine and Chizea, 2011). Cases of human rights violations which McCulley
(2013) described as becoming a culture of impunity in the country includes extra-judicial
killings, illegal detention, destruction of property by security forces etc. Even studies by
researchers (Adetoro, 2012a; Oladunjoye and Omemu, 2013; Udama, 2013; Ojo et al., 2014)
acknowledged the role of extra-judicial killings of Mohammed Yusuf and other Boko Haram
leaders in escalating the sectarian violence that nearly consumed the whole of North Eastern
Nigeria. Kidnapping for ransom and rituals are also alarming (Agabe, 2013; Atoyebi, 2014).
Other forms of human rights abuses in Nigeria include motorists‟ harassment and extortion by
security personnel, political assassinations, undemocratic imposition of candidates in leadership
and intimidation of political opponents (Akhaine and Chizea, 2011); rape, child abuse, education
denial and domestic violence (Adesupo, 2013; Ayegboyin, 2013; Ayoola, 2013; Hamzat, 2013;
Salahudeen, 2013).

Human rights are “rights which all human beings have by virtue of their humanity, such as the
right to life, dignity of human person, personal liberty, fair hearing and freedom of thought,
conscience and religion. They provide a common standard of behavior among the international
community (Jacob, 2012). They are natural, rational, inviolable, and unalterable, the deprivation
of which would constitute a grave affront to one’s sense of justice. Rights, as defined, are
generally understood as, “moral-political claims which by contemporary consensus, every human
being has or is deemed to have upon his society or government,” claims which are recognized
“as of right” and “not by love or grace or charity (Damrosch et al., 2007).

Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, provides for
fundamental rights of citizens, including the right to life, right to dignity of human person, right

1
to personal liberty, right to fair hearing, right to private and family life, right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion, right to freedom of movement, right to freedom from
discrimination, and the right to acquire and own property anywhere in Nigeria. Also, in chapter
II, provisions are made for several other rights under the fundamental objectives and directive
principles of state policy.

Dating back to the colonial era, the human rights records of the Nigerian state has been
consistently poor and unimpressive. At present, the situation has not significantly improved. In
recent years, it has become apparent to observers as well as practitioners of mass
communications that human rights are more newsworthy than it was. The media have become
interested not only in violations of human rights, but in the institutional apparatus that has been
designed to promote and protect human rights. Partly this is due to the fact that many
governments and international institutions have integrated human rights principles into their
policy frameworks (International Council on Human Rights Policy, 2002).

Formally, therefore, the human rights discourse and human rights law influence directly public
policy and diplomatic relations in ways that was not the case until the end of the Cold War. Since
1945, but more especially in the last twenty five years, numerous international standards and
conventions have been approved and ratified by governments and international organizations.
They set out detailed guidelines on unacceptable and acceptable conduct in numerous areas of
life. In parallel, a large number of human rights organizations have emerged from within civil
society in many countries around the world. These organizations monitor violations of human
rights, lobby for reform and feed the press with information on the subject.

The many humanitarian crises in the last decade have also caused media organizations to
increase their coverage of human rights. Some of the most serious human rights violations have
either taken place in the context of armed conflict, or have been the immediate cause of conflict
erupting. One effect of this has been to muddy a distinction between human rights and
humanitarian issues that was already none too clear in the minds of many journalists. Yet the
impact of these crises in pushing human rights into the foreground has been indisputable, above
all those crises in the Nigeria. Though journalists have expanded coverage of human rights issues
into new areas, many human rights issues are under-reported. Issues that are less visible, or slow
processes, are covered rarely. Human rights are still taken largely to mean political and civil

2
rights, and the importance of economic, social and cultural rights is ignored widely by the media
in their coverage of economic issues, including the international economy, poverty, inequity and
social and economic discrimination (International Council on Human Rights Policy, 2002).

With a growing evidence of repressive conditions in democracy, where the media are expected to
be freer and able to cover human rights situations without interference, it is similarly important
to examine the pattern of media coverage in democratic regimes. There is a need to understand
media conduct and performance regarding respects for human rights in democracy, especially
when it is characterized by repressive conditions.

Therefore, this research hopes to add to our understanding of the relationship between media and
human rights in democracy and human rights coverage in national media. The country, since
another change of regime to multi-party democracy in 1999, is characterized by crises of many
dimensions, providing impetus for serious repression and disrespects for human rights
(Adejumobi, 2010). Human rights were protected in Nigerian constitution and the country is a
signatory to most international treaties guaranteeing human rights (Egede, 2007). The media in
Nigeria are also considered important partners in monitoring human rights abuses (Asemah,
Edegoh & Ogoh, 2013; Pate, 2011) and have been constitutionally empowered to uphold the
fundamental values of democracy and “…uphold the responsibility and accountability of the
Government to the people” (Section 21 of the 1999 Constitution). Previous studies that examined
media human rights coverage in Nigeria only examined media coverage during military regimes
(Pate, 2011; Olatunji, 2011). It is therefore important to also understand the performance of the
media in ensuring human rights are protected in democratic regimes in Nigeria.

1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Journalists often fail to adopt a comprehensive approach in reporting human rights abuses. Even
in the absence of such abuses, the media often fail to formulate their broadcast policy to
incorporate human rights programmes. The prioritization of profit-making over societal
wellbeing dominates media agenda. For instance, Lustgarten and Debix (2005) assert that the
media‟s preference for „flashy audience–grabbing and ratings-soaring image or story‟ makes
them to be nonchalant in matters which are of interest to the public, owing to their inability to
pursue events in detail. The country, since another change of regime to multi-party democracy in

3
1999, is characterized by crises of many dimensions, providing impetus for serious repression
and disrespects for human rights (Adejumobi, 2010).

Deliberate violation of human rights is unnatural and animalistic, while its protection must be
respected out of the goodness of the heart. Sadly enough however, today, there is hardly a leader
or a place on the earth surface where human rights are not being grossly violated with impunity
despite the efforts of the human rights activists and organizations. In fact, the world is in a
regime of human rights encroachment. Such violation include: social insecurity, racial
discrimination, extrajudicial killing, prejudice, forceful sterility, sale of children, women and
child trafficking, sexual harassment, genocide, war crime, etc. As pointed out earlier on, there is
hardly a nation or a leader who is left out.

According to Amnesty International, other forms of human rights encroachment include: rape,
masturbation, illegal human experiment, unethical medical research, nudity, solitary
confinement, exposure to harsh weather, e.t.c. Russia and other great nations are not left out let
alone the African countries where cherished values of equality, justice, love, respect, peace, e.t.c.
had been supplanted by disgusting practices of indiscriminate killings, unlawful arrest,
imprisonment, torture, sexual harassment summary execution, corruptions, nepotism, and so on
as a result of callousness of leaders and their agents.

1.2 AIM OF THE STUDY

The main purpose of this research is to examine the pattern of human rights in Nigerian media.
This, theoretically, constituted a diagnostic feedback when the media owners were given
freedom to pursue whatever market objectives they desire as a consequence of democracy, but
were obliged to fulfil certain responsibilities to the society. The study will examine the
performance of the Nigerian media, in particular the newspapers, in covering human rights issues
during a democratic regime in the country. It studied the level of attention accorded to human
rights, the trend of the coverage, the pattern of treatment of the issues, gender representation in
the coverage and what human rights issues received media attention. It was fundamentally a
critical assessment of the media in democracy and was guided by an understanding that the
media should accept and fulfill certain responsibilities in the society.

4
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To determine the frequency of reports on human rights in the Punch and Daily Trust
newspapers
2. To determine the direction in which issues of human rights are reported in the
newspapers.
3. To examine the prominence given to issues of human rights in the selected dailies.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. How often do The Nation and Daily Trust cover issues of Human rights?
2. What is the direction of reporting human rights issues in The Nation and Daily Trust
newspapers?
3. What prominence do The Nation and Daily Trust give to issues of human rights?

Addressing these questions, this report examines the news and reporting process and its relations
with human rights organizations. It assesses the difficulties of communicating complex human
right issues accurately and suggests ways in which coverage of human rights could be improved.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study will be of immense importance to both the Nigerian media and the masses who are of
course the media consumers. The media are conventionally said to be the watchdogs of the
society who not only entertain but educate, enlighten and inform on happenings near and far. The
media would hardly be informing and enlightening the public: if they do not cover, report and
broadcast daily happenings; if they do not examine and investigate irregularities and report
findings and if they do not create avenues for the public to contribute their own opinion as part of
corporate citizenship, thus helping everybody to feel part and parcel of societal development. To
these end, the findings of this work will reveal whether the media have been living up to
expectations in the area of the fight against corruption by the present government.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will examine The punch and Daily Trust newspapers reports and coverage of issues of
human rights in Nigeria with a particular focus on the frequency, tune and prominence given to

5
such issues. These two dailies were selected considering their national outlook, the regions in
which they are published and availability for the sake of ease for the researcher.

1.7 CONCEPTUAL AND OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS

In the course of this research, there are some terms used in this foundation on which this research
is based. The words such as Mass Media, Media and human right abuse will be looked into, for
there are to be a proper understanding of the research.

MASS MEDIA

A Mass Medium, in the words of Hall (1981:215), “is essentially a working group organized
around some device (sic) for circulating the same Message at about the same time to large
numbers of people.”
Mass Medium however is a singular concept the plural of which is mass Medium. In the light of
the above definition therefore, the mass Media are Modern channels of Mass communication
used to disseminate news and information to very diverse CUM large numbers of people
simultaneously.
This implies that mass Media Messages easily cut aross geo-political boundaries unlike that of
traditional Media that suffer a limited reach. “this, “again, “ Means that with the epoch of the
Mass communication system, relatively large audience Members could be quickly reached with
specific massage irrespective of their diverse locations in the global, geopolitical and cultural
map” (Nwodu,200)

MEDIA

The plural form of medium. Medium means that by which something is expressed. In this study,
media is the same as mass media. The mass media are the modern channels of mass
communication used to disseminate information to a very heterogeneous large number of people.

HUMAN RIGHTS

These are those rights that all people are or should be entitled to. These rights are immutable,
inalienable rights that cannot be denied anybody. They are rights and privileges that are given by
nature to man by virtue of being a human being. These rights include right to life, freedom of

6
association, freedom of speech; freedom of movement etc. and they are enshrined in the 1999
constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. It is the duty of both the government and the
governed to respect the provisions of the constitution as it concerns human rights. When we talk
of human rights abuse, we are talking of a situation where human being are denied their natural
rights, rights that are inherent, that are natural, that were not created by the state. They are not
allowed to exercise these rights on their own either through the instruments of the state using
them to deny them, depriving them of their free rights.

7
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, a brief overview of studies made on human rights in Nigeria and mass media will
be introduced alongside international perspectives, government violation and Social rights with
equality. This will give a general idea on the research topic of discuss.

2.1 EMPIRICAL REVIEW

Boadu (1981) posit that communication, undoubtedly, contributes to socio-economic

development. The media, with their integrative and interactive abilities, have helped in shaping
the socio-economic development of communities, countries and the globe at large. Evidence
abounds to show how the convergence of communication (as conveyed in mass media contents)
and political leadership has affected the socioeconomic development especially when
development is viewed as social and material advancement or improvement in the quality of life,
self-reliance and improved living conditions.

The mass media can furnish useful information to the people at large constantly because they
reach the largest section of the society directly or indirectly or through secondary readership and
viewership regular and intimately (Onabajo, 2007). Apart from the government and the people,
another party that has a major role to play in tackling rape and gender base violence in Nigeria is
the media. Mboho (2005) added that the media have been known worldwide to possess certain
qualities that make their uses imperative if the communication is aimed at a wider and
heterogeneous audience. However since the media cannot be isolated in matters of corruption, it
is expected that they give prominence to the issues of corruption.

Media are central to changing people’s beliefs about the prevalence and legitimacy of corruption.
This ability to mould perceptions, norms, and behaviour is fundamental to their importance in the
fight against corruption. Rajak (2014) maintains that the media may not be traditional tools in the
fight against corruption. However, they are crucial in achieving the cultural change that must
accompany any legislative change to make laws and institutional changes sustainable. Media can
amplify the effect of anti-corruption legislation by

8
 a) Reaching and mobilizing a broader audience;

b) Motivating political leaders to act;

c) Facilitating a cultural change that will improve the sustainability of change

According to Eigen (1999), Media can play an important public accountability role by
monitoring and investigating the actions of those who are granted public trust and who may be
tempted to abuse their office for private gain hence the role of the media in combating corruption
cannot be overemphasized.

The newspaper as a medium of mass communication is very powerful in influencing people

through its agenda setting abilities; the newspaper set topics for public discussion. People mostly
tend to live by what they see, listen or read from the media. The newspaper is mostly restricted to
only the literate and financially strong members of the society who can buy and read. The
newspaper has an edge over radio and television due to its unique features. The newspaper
provides in-depth and interpretative information in the form of features, in-depth news,
investigative reports, cartoons, special columns news analysis etc. Also, newspapers provide
permanence and convenience to its readers; it can be stored for a long period and can be read at
will unlike radio and television which are transient in nature. Thus, the Nigerian press has a role
to play in forming public dialogue that would help in social change.

According to Oso (2003), national development is a multidimensional process, the end product
which should be a qualitative improvement in the standard of living of the people. Oso 2003
furthered that it is a process concerned with how people exploit their God-given resources to
satisfy their needs, manage and induce change within a given historical period. He quoted a
former Secretary- General of USCSTD definition of development in this way: “Development
must transcend purely economic dimensions in order to include social considerations - food,
health, living conditions and employment - and the whole dimension embracing creatively,
quality of life and the rights of man.”

The press is part and parcel of the lives and aspirations of the people, it ensure the participation
of the readers in the process of social development. Stemming from this is the fact that the
principal purpose of the media is development, development conceived not just in terms of

9
economical indices but more in terms of justice, equity, better access to social resources and
freedom of expression.

Another pertinent point is the fact that for the Nigerian press to remain and function as one it
cannot be run as the agitators of the elites. It must be radically different in operation,
organization, philosophy and content. Relevance must be the core values which must inform its
operation and professional judgement in terms of news selection and treatment. As the mirror of
and window to the society, the content of the newspapers must reflect the interests and
aspirations of the people. Stories must be inclusive; no group must be marginalized; no view or
perceptive distorted; sources and sourcing for news must be diverse and sensitive to the social
composition of the society.

McNair (1995) outlined five functions of the mass media in an ideal democratic society to
include informing the citizens, educating the citizens, a platform for public political discourse, to
give publicity to governmental and political institutions and a channel for the advocacy of
political viewpoints. It is therefore the job of the Nigerian press to inform and keep the public
abreast of the happenings in the political sector of any society or institution.

Schramm posits that media plays only a supportive role and not a leading role in achieving
national development. Information that flows to the masses through the media helps in
improving their standard of living. Media should identify issues and problem that have direct
link to development (health, education, security, food, shelter, freedom of expression, and
equity). The mass media should build a climate of development through coverage of such issues
and initiate creation of policies through discussion. Media should mobilize people to participate
in implementation of policies that will lead to development. They monitor the implementation of
development policies, record and project the success and failure of such implemented policies.

2.2 HUMAN RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

Human rights in Nigeria are protected under the most current constitution of 1999. Nigeria has
made major improvements in human rights under this constitution though the American Human
Rights Report of 2012 notes areas where significant improvement is needed, which include:
abuses by Boko Haram, killings by government forces, lack of social equality, and issues with
freedom of speech (Bureau of Democracy, 2012). The Human Rights Watch's 2015 World

10
Report states that intensified violence by Boko Haram, restrictions of LGBTIQQ rights, and
government corruption continue to undermine the status of human rights in Nigeria (world report
2015: Nigeria).

2.2.1 HISTORY SINCE INDEPENDENCE

In the period between its independence in 1960 and 1998, Nigeria had, in terms of heads of state,
two elected, one appointed, one military successor and seven different coups d'état powers. In
1979, Nigeria adopted a presidential system in order to properly instate the right of choosing who
rules them with a new constitution. This constitution guarantees fundamental human rights that
are constantly in violation. There was a crusade for human rights in 1985, when General Ibrahim
Babangida took power (McCarthy-Arnolds, 1993).

There were changes under the Babangida administration both for the positive as well as for the
negative. Although Nigeria has been active in signing and ratifying international human rights
treaties, it has seen challenges when trying to implement these treaties domestically. Nigeria
operates under a dualist system and cannot apply international treaties unless they are ratified by
the legislative houses in Nigeria. Furthermore, the Nigerian constitution protects civil and
political rights, but international treaties like the African Charter also expand protection to
cultural, socioeconomic, and group rights. Because the Nigerian constitution is supreme law, the
Supreme Court of Nigeria often resolves conflicts in favor of the constitution, therefore
restricting the expansion of potential human rights (Egede, 2007).

2.2.2 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

When General Babangida took power in 1985 and repealed Decree N0. 4 of 1984, a law that
made it criminal behavior to publish any material that was considered embarrassing or against
the interests of the government, there was renewed hope for freedom of expression both by the
people and the media. Within the Babangida regime, political tolerance occurred for some time.
However, this brief foray into human rights broke down when the regime began jailing its critics
and firing employees who did not promote their views and ideals. This regime closed down more
newspapers and banned more popular organizations than any other in Nigeria's post-colonial
history (McCarthy-Arnolds, 1994).

11
Journalists were subjected to "chats" with the State Security Service that involved threatening
and possible imprisonment. There were continually newspaper shutdowns. In 1990, The
Republic, Newbreed, Lagos Daily News, The Punch, and various other newspapers were shut
down at some point by the federal government (Africa watch, 1999).In 1999, freedom of
expression became protected by the new Nigerian Constitution. However, defamation laws were
afterwards passed (ResearchGate, 2020).

Critics maintain that though measures of freedom of the press have improved, there is still room
for improvement. Nigeria was described as "partly free" in the Freedom of the Press 2011 report
published by the Freedom House (see yearly rankings in Freedom House ratings in Nigeria
section). cited the killing, detention and brutalization of journalists alongside targeted attempts to
shrink the civic space by the Nigerian Government as reason for the ranking On April 26 2020
(Bureau of Democracy, 2012), the Reporter without Borders World Press Freedom Index ranked
Nigeria 115 out of 180 countries surveys. Reporters without Borders cited killing, detention and
brutalization of journalists alongside targeted attempts to shrink the civic space by the Nigerian
Government as reason for the ranking (siteadmin, 2020).

However, this rank is higher than the 146 rank which Transparency International gave Nigeria
earlier in the year with regards to corruption (Channels Television, 2020) .The Reporters without
Borders report further stated “With more than 100 independent newspapers, Africa’s most
populous nation enjoys real media pluralism but covering stories involving politics, terrorism or
financial embezzlement by the powerful is very problematic"(siteadmin, 2020).

On July 24, 2020, the United Nations official urged the Nigerian authorities to immediately
release a prominent human rights defender Mubarak Bala, who has been detained for more than
two months without charges, on accusations of blasphemy (UN News, 2020).

Late September 2020, the United Nations human rights experts urged Nigerian authorities to
release singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who was convicted and sentenced to death over an
allegedly blasphemous song. U.N. Human Rights Special Procedures group claimed that a group
of people burned down the singer’s home on March 4 (Voice of America, 2020).

2.2.3 GOVERNMENT VIOLATIONS

12
Nigerian security forces are frequently alleged to carry out arbitrary arrests, torture, forced
disappearances, assassinations and extrajudicial summary executions. These abuses typically
occur within the context of the Nigerian government's security operations or are directed against
political and religious organizations and individuals. Several instances of mass killings of
political opponents and agitators by security forces have been reported (Africa Eye, 2020).

2.2.3.1 ARMY

On 12–14 December 2015, the Nigerian Army carried out a massacre of 347 members of the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in Zaria, Kaduna State and buried the bodies in mass
graves. In March 2020, it was revealed that some Nigeria army soldiers took advantage of food
shortages at refugee camps in Borno state and raped women at female-designated "satellite
camps" in exchange for granting them food. These refugee camp food shortages also resulted in
the death of "thousands" of people since 2015 (www.Amnesty.org, 2020). On April 4, 2020,
three Army soldiers were arrested in Lagos state for issuing threats to rape women. On 21 May
2020, two Lagos state Army deserters, Kehinde Elijah and Ezeh Joseph, were arrested for their
involvement in the murder of a police sergeant on 10 May 2020. The shooters, who were
afterwards taken into military custody, were also assisted by a Nigerian police officer and were
wanted for "violent crimes."

2.2.3.2 POLICE FORCE

In Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force has been typically viewed as inefficient and corrupt. The
Joint Task Force (JTF) has provided inadequate and violent response to the Boko Haram attacks.
The JTF has been involved in killing suspects without fair trial as well as killing random
members of communities suspected of supporting the Boko Haram. This "heavy-handed"
approach violates human rights with its lack of access to a fair trial and use of discriminatory
techniques to determine perpetrators of violence (Human Rights Watch, 2012).

Within the regular Nigerian Police Force, there are high amounts of corruption and violations
that include extortion and embezzlement. The police force takes advantage of the people by
putting up roadblocks that require a fee to pass and taking money for no legal reason. Within the
police force, there is no equal protection under the law. The wealthy are able to buy the police

13
for security as well as expecting the police to turn a blind eye to illegal activities they participate
in (Human Rights Watch, 2010).

On 2 August 2019, two officers of the Nigerian Police Force's Anti-Cultism Squad, Insp.
Ogunyemi Olalekan and Sgt. Godwin Orji, were arrested and charged with murdering a man
during a raid in Lagos (AfricaNews, 2019). On 21 August 2019, four SARS operatives were
arrested and charged with murder after being caught on film manhandling and then shooting to
death two suspected phone thieves in broad daylight. The two suspected phone thieves were shot
dead after they had been arrested (Punch Newspapers, 2020).
On January 5, 2020, three Nigerian Police Force officers were arrested after beating a bus
passenger, named Justice Obasi, after he refused to unlock his mobile phone (Channels
Television, 2020).

On April 3, 2020, a Nigerian police officer was arrested for assaulting a port worker (Agyeman,
2020). On April 18, 2020, the Nigerian Police Force stated that two of its officers were arrested
after being caught on film beating a woman at the Odo Ori Market in Iwo, Osun (Abiola, 2020).

On April 28, 2020, Nigerian Police Force's Rivers State Police Command arraigned former
Sergeant Bitrus Osaiah in court for shooting to death his female colleague, Lavender Elekwachi,
during a raid on street trading and illegal motor parks the previous week (Editor, 2020). Osaiah
was dismissed as a police officer the previous day for killing Elekwachi, who also held the rank
of a Sergeant (THE NEWS, 2020). It was reported that Osaiah was in fact arrested for the killing.
On May 21, 2020, Yahaha Adeshina, the Divisional Police Officer of Ilemba Hausa Division,
was arresting for assisting Kehinde Elijah and Ezeh Joseph in the May 10, 2020 murder of
sergeant Onalaja Onajide. All three shooters were wanted for "violent crimes." On May 30,
2020, two Lagos police officers were arrested for shooting to death a 16-year old girl (GhGossip,
2020).

In February 2019, it was reported that Nigerian police officers commonly gained extra money by
extorting local residents (Kazeem, 2020). On July 30, 2019, three Nigeria Police Force Officers
from Anambra State were arrested on charges of extorting three residents. On November 10,
2019, the Nigerian Police Force issued a statement revealing that Safer Highways Patrol officer
Onuh Makedomu was arrested after being filmed accepting a bribe from a motorist in Lagos. On

14
March 9, 2020, two Nigeria Police Force officers from Lagos, Assistant Superintendent of Police
(ASP) Adebayo Ojo and Sergeant Adeleke Mojisola were both arrested on charges of extorting a
woman. On April 11, 2020 another Nigeria Police Force officer from Lagos, Inspector Taloju
Martins, was arrested after being caught on camera exhorting a motorist. On June 3, 2020, the
Adamawa State police command announced that one of its officers was arrested for murdering a
motorcycle motorist who refused to pay him a bribe (Fulani, 2020).

On July 31, Peter Ebah, an inspector officer for the Nigeria Police Forces's Rivers Command,
was arrested for raping a woman at a checkpoint in the Tai area of Rivers State for not wearing a
face mask (siteadmin, 2020). As of September 9, 2020, he was still in custody for the rape. A
case involving accusations that Nigeria Police Force officers in Abuja raped some of 65 women
who were arrested for illicit nightclub activity in April 2019 after they refused to pay the officers
bribes for their release was still ongoing as well (Philip, 2020).

On 21 October 2020, UN Secretary General António Guterres issued a statement criticizing

Nigerian authorities, as many protesters were shot dead and wounded during a violent escalation
in Lagos (UN News, 2020).

2.2.3.3 SARS CONTROVERSIES AND DISMANTLEMENT

On October 22, 2020, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed in a publicly-aired

address that Nigeria's controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) had been dismantled
and also accused some members of SARS of committing "acts of excessive force" when the unit
was operational. Plans were then put in place to also prosecute some former SARS members for
extortion, rape, and murder (Akingbule, 2020). Numerous Nigerians had long accused the
controversial police unit of committing acts of extortion, rape, torture and murder (Dark, 2020).

2.2.4 SOCIAL RIGHTS AND EQUALITY

A. LGBT RIGHTS

In May 2013, Nigeria's House of Representatives voted to pass the Same-Sex Marriage Bill,
which prohibits gay marriage and public displays of affection between same-sex couples and
allots fourteen years in prison to those engaged in same-sex relationships. This bill also allows
punishment for those knowingly associating with those identifying as members of the LGBT

15
community or aiding these individuals in becoming married or pursuing that lifestyle. The
punishment for abetting gay marriage is 5 years imprisonment. Furthermore, the bill criminalizes
any association with gay identity and the promotion of lesbian and gay rights, such as gathering
privately with gay people (Tatchell, 2006). The Same-Sex Marriage Bill was ratified by
President Goodluck Jonathan in January 2014 and has received much condemnation from the
West for its restriction of the freedoms of expression and assembly for the LGBT community in
Nigeria.
B. WOMEN

Women in Nigeria face various versions of human rights violations despite the provisions
granted unto them in the 1999 Constitution (Kuteyi, 2000). Regardless of the opportunity
provided to take up unconstitutionality to higher courts in Nigeria, women do not often utilize
this option and as such, there continues to be many violations occurring. Women who are
involved in the informal economy can often enjoy some degree of autonomy, but men are often
in control of land and credit, from a societal perspective. Depending on their connections with
important men, educated women may enjoy a higher social status. Education has provided many
women with access to wage labor, which is usually outside of the direct control of men, but
women are often still restrained by social expectations and boundaries. Even when they have
employment opportunities, tradition in Nigerian society dictates that a career be secondary to a
woman's primary role in the family as a mother or housewife (Okeke, 2000).

Nigerian women face particular problems and injustices once they become widows. The women
are subject to cultural pressures that are inconsistent with human rights. In the widowhood
practice, culture demands that when a man of significance within the community dies, his widow
must act in a certain way as documented by Akpo Offiong Bassey in her studies of the Cross
River State (Ako-Nai, 2012). In some Nigerian tribal cultures, the woman must initially go into
seclusion. They are also forced to neglect their bodies; they are not allowed to shave, shower, or
change their clothing. They have to rub cow dung and palm oil on their bodies and must also
sleep on the floor. Widows are also expected to wear black, the color of mourning, for two years
to properly show their loss and respect for their late husband. These practices widely vary in
severity and methods, based on the individual cultural backdrop. However, there has been a
major decline of such practices in recent years. Apart from mourning, the widow has immediate

16
concerns involving living situations and property to deal with. In most cases, the eldest son and
not the widow inherit the entire property. Women are culturally viewed as property and can be
inherited like the rest of a husband's estate. Whether or not the widow can continue to reside on
the property is dependent on her relationship with her eldest son or, if there are no sons, the
eldest male relative of her husband. There have also been instances where the woman must
return to her premarital home after refunding the bride price (Ako-Nai, 2012). The lack of
sufficient property right makes these women dependent on men while single, married, or
widowed.

Though the Nigerian Supreme Court has yet to formally deal with this issue, in the 2007
Nnanyelugo v. Nnanyelugo case, two brothers attempted to get the land of their deceased brother
under the case that a widow has no business with the property. The ruling stated that they would
no longer allow the males to take advantage of the vulnerable position of the widows and young
children. There are other cases in which courts have ruled to implement the equality guaranteed
underneath the constitution. Because of the patrilineal nature of Nigerian cultures, it is often seen
as justifiable to have another wife to ensure that there will be a male heir to carry the lineage of
the family. In custody decisions, women's opinions are often ignored, and decisions are usually
made in men's favor (Okeke, 2000).

C. CHILD LABOR AND CHILD MARRIAGE

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 31% of Nigerian children (around 14,000,000
children) aged 5 to 14 years old are working children who engage in forced labor in various
sectors. According to the Department's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor,
instances of child labor have been observed in the agricultural sector where children participate
in the production of cocoa, cassava, and sand, and in the mining industry where they mine,
quarry, and crush gravel and granite. Nigeria is characterized by many small farms that largely
depend on family labor in the operations of the farm. In Nigeria, most child labor is found in the
informal agricultural sector. Instead of attending school, more than 50% of children living in the
rural areas of Nigeria spend more than 20 hours a week working, which is considered the point at
which a child's education becomes significantly affected (Adeoti, 2013).

17
Early marriage is prevalent in Nigeria, especially amongst Muslims in the north, due to the belief
that early marriage prevents promiscuity. However, the major cause of early marriage has been
attributed to poverty by Tim Braimah (Braimah, 2014).

Many girls are married off by the time they are 15, and some girls are married as early as age 9.
Girls are extremely susceptible to disease and domestic violence and are restricted access to
education due to the early age at which they give birth and begin caring for their children (Nnadi,
2014).

One popular source of legislation that was first brought forward in 1991 and became national law
in 2003 is the Child Rights Act. This Act provides that in all matters involving a child, which
may come before a court for adjudication; the best interest of the child is the paramount
consideration. Among other factors to protect children from abuses and discrimination, Section
21 and 23 of the act made it illegal to marry off a child below the age of 18. If a husband
consummates a marriage with a child, it is considered rape (Toyo, 2006).

The Child Rights Act competes with sharia law in some states as well as with customs and
cultural expectations in different regions. The Child Rights Act has not been enacted in 13 of
Nigeria's 36 states where other cultural and religious factors are largely influencing the laws that
are enacted (Mark, 2013). Even in states with laws prohibiting child marriage, these laws have
been ineffective since there remain many cases of child marriage. By the provisions of the Child
Rights Act, any decision to be made in any proceeding before a court which involves a child; the
best interest of the child is the paramount consideration (Nnadi, 2014).

D. ETHNIC MINORITIES

Minority ethnic groups have been fighting for equal rights since Nigeria's independence in 1960
(Rindap, 2014). Many of the tensions between ethnic groups arise from Nigeria's federal system,
(Suberu, 1996) and many minorities view the governmental structure as skewed in favor of the
three major ethnic groups, the Hausa-Fulani in the North, the Yoruba in the West, and the Igbo in
the east. They believe that the federation is not inclusive of minorities, which leads to
marginalized ethnic groups. Since Nigeria's independence, minorities have joined together to
demand the formation of new states, increasing the number of states from 12 in 1967 to the
current number of 36, in the attempts to reduce the regional power of dominant ethnic groups.

18
However, this only led to the further marginalization of smaller ethnic minorities by more
powerful ethnic minorities within the state. Also, the limited presence of power-sharing
mechanisms means that the national leadership of Nigeria has remained in the power of the
majority ethnic groups (Rindap, 2014)

E. RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

According to its constitution, Nigeria is a secular country (Zarifis, 2002). The Constitution
forbids the establishment of a state religion and guarantees the right to freedom of religion.
Nigeria has a population roughly split in half, between Christians predominantly in the South and
Muslims in the North, and with a minority population of traditional religion worshippers. Despite
the clear provisions in the Constitution, Nigerian public holidays honor Christian and Muslim
feast days, but not holidays of any other religion. The government subsidizes only Christian and
Muslim pilgrimages and allows Christian and Muslim religious education in schools (Ali, 2015).

Since January 2000, several Northern states have institutionalized a version of Sharia law. This
enactment of Sharia law has caused controversy over its violation of fundamental rights, such as
the right for minorities in those states to practice their religion, the right to life, and freedom
from cruel and unusual punishment.

Historically, the Nigerian Constitution has allowed Sharia court’s jurisdiction over certain cases,
but their jurisdiction is limited to matters of Islamic personal or family law. Several state
governments in the North have extended Sharia law to criminal offenses, thereby violating the
Constitution's prohibition of an official religion. These states have relied on a constitutional
provision that allows the Sharia Court to exercise other jurisdiction given to it by the state in
introducing Sharia penal codes. The imposition of Sharia law in certain states in Nigeria
infringes on the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Muslims who would prefer to be
judged under the Constitution are not able to do so, and non-Muslims are denied the right to
practice their religions freely. The severe penalties given to lesser offenses under Sharia penal
laws have raised concern about their violation of rights that are protected by international human
rights treaties. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which
Nigeria is a party, allows the death penalty if it is carried out in a way that causes the least
suffering and only in the cases of serious crimes that intentionally cause lethal consequences.

19
Under Sharia law, adultery is punished by death by stoning, which violates both conditions set
forth by the ICCPR (Zarifis, 2002).

In southern Nigeria, especially in areas with Christian majorities, many rights are denied to
Muslims as well as other religious minorities. Some educational institutions have banned the use
of the hijab, which violates the right of Muslim women to practice their religion. Some state
governments in the South have also denied many requests for land grants to build mosques or
Islamic schools. Throughout Nigeria, religious minorities are systematically restricted from
building places of worship and schools through the denial of land grants. Members of minority
religious groups are often attacked during riots and religious conflicts (Ali, 2015).

2.2.5 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

According to the U.S. Department of State, The most serious human rights problems during ...
[2011] were the abuses committed by the militant sect known as Boko Haram, which was
responsible for killings, bombings, and other attacks throughout the country, resulting in
numerous deaths, injuries, and the widespread destruction of property; abuses committed by the
security services with impunity, including killings, beatings, arbitrary detention, and destruction
of property; and societal violence, including ethnic, regional, and religious violence. Other
serious human rights problems included sporadic abridgement of citizens' right to change their
government, due to some election fraud and other irregularities; politically motivated and
extrajudicial killings by security forces, including summary executions; security force torture,
rape, and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of prisoners, detainees, and criminal
suspects; harsh and life-threatening prison and detention center conditions; arbitrary arrest and
detention; prolonged pretrial detention; denial of fair public trial; executive influence on the
judiciary and judicial corruption; infringements on citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on
freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, and movement; official corruption; violence and
discrimination against women; child abuse; female genital mutilation ...; the killing of children
suspected of witchcraft; child sexual exploitation; ethnic, regional, and religious discrimination;
trafficking in persons for the purpose of prostitution and forced labor; discrimination against
persons with disabilities; discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity;
vigilante killings; forced and bonded labor; and child labor (Bureau of Democracy, 2011).

20
Twelve northern states have adopted some form of Shari'a into their criminal statutes: Bauchi,
Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara. The
Shari'a criminal laws apply to those who voluntarily consent to the jurisdiction of the Shari'a
courts and to all Muslims. It provides harsh sentences for, among other crimes, alcohol
consumption, infidelity, same-sex sexual activity, and theft, including amputation, lashing,
stoning, and long prison terms.

Some Christian pastors in Nigeria were reported in 2009 of being involved in the torturing and
killing of children accused of witchcraft. In the decade ending in 2009, over 1,000 children were
murdered as "witches". Those pastors, in an effort to distinguish themselves from the
competition, were accused of decrying witchcraft in an effort to establish their "credientials"
(The Telegraph, 2009).

2.3 MASS MEDIA

2.3.1 THE HISTORY OF PRINT MEDIA IN NIGERIA

The history of mass media in Nigeria as earlier pointed out began in 1859. Then, a European
missionary named Rev. Henry Townsend published the first newspaper in Nigeria called Iwe
Irohin. The success of Iwe Irohin paved way for other newspapers to follow. Thus,
between1863-65, Robert Campbell joined the train with the publication of the Anglo African
newspaper. Over time, Nigerian publishers began to venture into newspaper business. Thus, titles
like The Nigeria Pioneer published by Kitoye Ajasa between 1914-1937, the African Messenger
first published in 1921 by Ernest Ikoli, The Lagos Daily Mirror foundedby Obademi and
popularized by Herbert Macauly in 1927, and The West African Pilot published by the great sage
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe emerged in the Nigeria print media landscape (Omu, 1978 and Okafor,
2002).

Today, over 250 newspapers (national, regional and local) and magazine titles circulate in
Nigeria (Aliede, 2010:129). Some of the leading newspapers include but not limited to The
Guardian, The Punch, Vanguard, Champion, The Sun, The Nation, ThisDay, New Nigerian an
Tribune. Also, magazine titles like Newswatch, Tell, Insider, TheWeek, TheNews and Ovation
are contributing essentially to national development through their news reports, analysis and
interpretation.

21
2.3.2 THE STATE OF PRINT MEDIA IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIA

The print media industry in Nigeria is a bourgeoning one. As observed above, so many national,
regional and local print media titles now circulate around the country. Nigeria One unique thing
about most of the newspaper and magazine titles is that they appear in full colour. In fact, since
Sunray newspaper kick started colour newspaper in Nigeria in mid 1990s, most newspapers and
magazines in Nigeria now publish with full digital colour separation. This has added to the
aesthetics values of the newspapers and magazines circulating in Nigeria in the present time,
thereby making them look highly attractive and appealing. Another remarkable improvement in
Nigerian print media industry is the quality of printing. The old methods of printing are fast
giving way for digital printing which makes the layout attractive while providing an eye comfort
to readers. Also the language level and quality of stories in Nigerian print media have improved
tremendously. It cannot be doubted therefore, that the quality of their story treatment and the
language of delivery now match acceptable international standard. The print media have
remained firm in terms of investigative journalism. The cases of Salisu Buhari and Senator Evan
Enwerem who lied on oath respectively about their certificate and age will remain shining
examples of how resolute the Nigerian print media have been in terms of investigative
journalism (LEVI, 2015).

In spite of these, the print media have their own problem in Nigeria. The problems facing the
industry presently include but are not limited to:

 Poor remuneration which tends to expose the practitioners to unethical practices

 Lack of job security arising from the frequent rise and fall of print media organizations
and which has made the job less attractive. National Concord of the 1980s and The Post
Express of the late 1990s are good examples of well-established print media
organizations that liquidated and threw their workers back into the labour market
 Operating in a depressed economy which has made the operators to often increase the
cover prices just to meet high production cost
 Poor readership which adversely affect the circulation revenue. Most Nigerians hardly
buy, either because they will not find time to read or because they are not literate enough
to read print media contents. Even those who can read often prefer tipping vendors to

22
 allow them read for a while and return the copy than to buy and read at their convenience.
The phenomenon of thronging around newsstands to read and give back to the vendors is
now derisively called “Free Readers Association” (Levi, 2015).

2.3.3 NEWSPAPER ORDINANCE NO 10 OF 1903

The proliferation of newspaper business in Nigeria in the late 1890s to early 1900s’ got the
colonial government in Nigeria jittery. The then indigenous newspaper publishers devoted larger
chunk of their publications to criticising colonialism and the activities of the colonial masters.
The consequence of this worry was the promulgation of Newspaper Ordinance No. 10 of 1903.
The essence of the ordinance, as Udeze (2012:16) observes was “to regulate the publication of
the newspaper in the Southern protectorate”. The ordinance, therefore, was not meant for the
Northern protectorate since no newspaper was published in the North then. In 1914, the Northern
and Southern protectorates were amalgamated to one geographical entity known today as
Nigeria. Following that amalgamation, the Newspaper Ordinance No. 10 of 1903 was amended
to Newspaper Ordinance of August 9, 1917. The amended Newspaper Ordinance of 1917 unlike
that of 1903 before it was applied to the entire nation.

2.3.4 MAJOR PROVISIONS OF THE ORDINANCE

As we earlier stated, the whole idea about the newspaper ordinances was to regulate the
ownership and operation of newspaper business in Nigeria. So in view of the desire to regulate
and or control the seemingly irrepressible indigenous publishers, the ordinance contained a
number of asphyxiating provisions. The provisions range from registration formalities to bonding
and proof of ownership (Levi, 2015).

Some of the major the provisions are as follow:

 registration formalities which require any person or group of persons wishing to venture
into newspaper business to first register the newspaper with and obtain approval from the
Federal Ministry of Information payment of deposit of 250 pounds in the office of the
minister concerned with newspaper matters and providing one or more surety as a pre-
condition for obtaining approval for take-off from the Attorney General of Federation.
Where the proprietor is unable to get a surety, he is required to pay additional 250 pounds

23
 summing up 500 pounds before he could be given approval to operate newspaper
business
 affidavit or bond which makes it mandatory for the publisher to clearly state ‘at the foot
of the last page of every newspaper/supplement, the true and real name and place of
residence of the printer, publisher and editor-in-charge as well as the true and real
description of place of printing (Udeze; 2012:19 and Elias, 1969:3). Failure to comply
with this provision attracts a penalty of 50 pounds for the publisher and 5 pounds for the
vendor.

2.3.5 IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY

The newspaper ordinances, no doubt has some suffocating implications for newspaper business
in Nigeria. Some of those stifling implications include but not limited to:

 The whole idea about registration was ill motivated in the sense that the purpose was to
make things difficult for those wishing to go into newspaper business, and by extension,
minimize criticisms against colonial government
 the demand for payment of certain deposit which the minister was at liberty to use to pay
damages for cases of libel or other infringements by any newspaper is further meant to
keep so many people out of the business since only very few can afford it. Thisis why
Udeze (2012:19) rightly observed that:
 …as at 1907 when this law was put in place, the highest paid Nigerian civil
servant were probably the court messengers (Kotuma, for short) who were earning
below 1 shilling a month. The “businessmen” were few palm producers and cocoa
dealers. So setting such a money and calibers of sureties must have been a near
impossibility and serious deterrent to the development of newspaper business in
Nigeria.
 the provision that requires that residential addresses of the printer, publisher and the
editor-in-chief at the imprint tend to expose the journalist to a greater risk. This is so
given that “the essence of this particular position is to make it easy for the colonial police
to access and deal with stubborn editors” (Udeze; 2012; 20). In recent times, where
journalists are exposed to all forms of harm from both overzealous government agents

24
 and some expose to hoodlums in the society, it is wrong to supply such information, in
particular the residential address. The more such information is exposed to the press, the
easier it is to trace journalists to their homes and harm them.

2.4 Theoretical Framework

Different approaches have been canvassed as to what constitute the framework of research. The
theoretical framework to be adopted is the Agenda setting and framing.

AGENDA SETTING

Agenda setting provide theoretical backing to this study. The notion of Agenda setting started
with Walter Lippmann’s observation that the mass media mediate between the world outside and
the picture in our heads Lipmann 1922. Cohen 1963 asserted that the press is significantly more
than a purveyor of information and opinion. Cohen restated that the press may not be successful
much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling readers
what to think about Cohen 1963.
Lippmann and Cohen’s submissions were results of their personal observations which lacked
empirical footing. However, McCombs and Shaw established an empirical link between media
agenda and public agenda in their studies McCombs and Shaw 1964.

McCombs and Shaw 1964 opined that the mass media have the ability to transfer the salience of
items on their news agenda for the public agenda. People judge important what the media judges
as important. The media does that by deciding what to place emphasis on in their news pages
thereby the media set the agenda of the day.

McCombs and Shaw furthered their argument that the mass media set agenda for public
discussion using the outcome of their study of an American presidential election to a theory
which has generated critical and sustained attention from researchers. Central to the Agenda
setting theory is the idea that the media influences the level or importance people attach to what
they see, read or hear from the mass media. This suggests that the mass media shapes how the
audience constructs social reality. For example, through selecting certain events and ignoring
others and by determining how the selected events are reported, this influences the perception of
social reality by the public.

25
Agenda setting theory is relevant to this study because if the media set the agenda of public
discussion, it is assumed that sustained media coverage of corruption will directly influence the
level of importance the Nigerian public attaches to the issue. Therefore, the more attention the
mass media devote to reporting issues of corruption, the more likely the public will consider
these issues to be important. For instance, White (1973), argued that the world looks different to
different people, depending not only on their personal interest, but also on the map that is drawn
for them by the writers, editors, and publishers they read.

Furthermore, the media not only influence what we think about but influences the way we think
about them. This is achieved through framing. Framing is a graduated form of agenda setting
theory developed by McCombs and Ghanem (2001). McCombs argues that agenda-setting
operates at two levels: the object level and the attribute level. Conventional agenda-setting
focuses at the object level and assesses how media coverage influences the priority assigned to
issues. The media can also tell us how to think about some issues. Media do this by influencing
second order i.e., attributes agenda. They tell us which attributes are important and which ones
are not. This is done by the media through selection, emphasis, exclusion and elaboration of
issues. These help to determine the salience of particular attributes of a story or issue. Media not
only tell us what to think about, they may also tell us how and in what way to think about it, and
possibly what to do about it. McCombs believes that the integration of agenda setting theory with
framing theory will help clarify some of the concepts in the framing theory. He advocates
clarification of a more general theoretical structure describing the frames and attributes that are
important to the communication process (McCombs, 2001).

From an opposing stance, Oheneaboagye 2017 identifies that the agenda setting theory fails to
address certain important issues. The theory assumes that if people are exposed to the same
media contents, they will place importance on the same issues.

Oheneaboagye 2017 argues that this assumption is not true. According to him people have
different frames of references therefore what one may consider important after filtering the
issues through his frame of reference is different from the other person’s. People are therefore
not always likely to place importance on the same issues even if they are all exposed to the same
media content.` Oheneaboagye 2017 and Ceaser 2010 further argue that agenda setting theory

26
fails to consider the personal interests of individuals. Any issue considered salient by the mass
media and put in the public domain will not necessarily be considered salient by the public. The
audience consciously chose media products that they get gratification from or addresses their
individual needs. It is such issues they might consider to be salient. The theory assumes that once
the media considers any issue to be salient and give it dominance, the public automatically
regards the issue as salient. The public only considers such issues salient if they personally have
interest in them. In such situation, one cannot claim that the issues are considered salient by the
audience simply because the media regard them as salient, but rather because they serve the
interest of the public. The Agenda Setting theory uses a very scientific approach, not humanistic,
and therefore in practical terms it is not able to stand the test of scrutiny since human beings are
known to be very unpredictable. Nonetheless, it is a very useful theory in the effect tradition of
the mass media (Oheneaboagye, 2017).

FRAMING

On the same theoretical framework of this study is framing. Framing goes beyond the
presentation of salient issues but includes how the issues are presented. Framing substantially
affects how the public perceives news and events (Entman, 1993), (Peng, 2008).

According to Entman 1993 framing is the selection of some aspects of a perceived reality and
make them more salient in a communication text, in such a way as to promote a particular
problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation for
the item described. Frames provide a mode of organization for journalists who report news
events and the public who consume the news. News reporting styles and conventions such as
space and time allocation, headline size, placement or positioning of news stories, use of
quotations are strategies used by journalists and editors to increase or reduce the salience of a
news report.

Therefore, the prominence news media attach to an event could be determined by examining
what is included, excluded or suppressed in the story. Peng 2008 defines framing as a process of
inclusion and exclusion. Similarly, Entman 1993 posit that frames call attention to some aspects
of reality while obscuring other elements which might lead audiences to have different reactions.
From these submissions therefore, what the media in include, exclude or suppress in the process

27
of framing issues of corruption will determine to a large extent how the public will perceive the
issues. This implies that when the media frames corrupt people as unpatriotic and selfish, the
public tend to regard them in same manner. Framing is concerned primarily with the manner of
presentation of such issues.

Findings of Nwodu and Ezeoke 2013 also reinforced the concept of framing which gives
attention to some aspects of reality while obscuring other elements which might lead audiences
to have different reactions as claimed (Entman, 1993). The media have power to structure and
determine what the audience consider important by the extent of prominence the media gives to
issues and how these issues are packaged and presented. It may be right to assume that manifest
poor prominence given to women’s and children’s issues in the press, the audiences may have
poor knowledge and perceptions of women’s and children’s rights’ issues. From the foregoing,
when prominence is given to issues of corruption by the media, audience will have a good
knowledge and perception of issues of corruption which will invariably influence their mind in
thinking about the agenda set by the media.
The agenda setting theory and the complementing theories of framing and priming relatively fit
into this study. Framing and priming are advance form of agenda setting as stated earlier.
Priming emphasizes the ability of the mass media to give prominence to a particular issue in
public domain. Human rights issues in this context become the prime issues. They are given
more space, prominence in terms of placement on the media. The frequency of such issues
become higher hence people’s attention is likely to be drawn to such issues as they keep
recurring and placed on pages regarded as prominent.

28
 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION
This section introduces the method to be used in analyzing the newspaper coverage of human
rights issues in Nigeria in accordance with the aim of this research which is to study the level of
attention accorded to human rights, the trend of the coverage, the pattern of treatment of the
issues, gender representation in the coverage and what human rights issues received media
attention without deviating from the scope of the study which is to examine The punch and Daily
Trust newspapers reports and coverage of issues of human rights in Nigeria with a particular
focus on the frequency, tune and prominence given to such issues. These two dailies were
selected considering their national outlook, the regions in which they are published and
availability for the sake of ease for the researcher.

3.2 Research Methodology

Descriptive approach will be adopted for this research in order to investigate media coverage of
human right issues. Because this study is grounded on the core objective of describing media’s
role in the coverage human right issues, Content Analysis was adopted as the research method.

From reviews of related literature, Content Analysis is explained by scholars as a method for
studies. Kerlinger 2000 defined content analysis as a method of studying and analysing
communication in a systematic, objective and quantitative manner for the purpose of measuring
variables. Berger 2008 says content analysis is a research method that is used to assess the
manifest content of a medium such as books, newspapers, magazines, films, documentaries and
television programme. Wimmer and Dominick 2000, describe Content Analysis as a research
technique for the systematic classification and description of communication content according
to certain and usually predetermined categories. Content Analysis is defined by Babbie and
Benaquisto 2002 as the study of recorded human communication such as books, websites,
painting and laws. It is a research method in the social sciences for studying the content of
communication

29
Content analysis therefore is capable of generating valid and reliable qualitative and quantitative
observations because of its unobtrusive nature. It eliminates many confusing antecedent
conditions often encountered in media research when other research techniques are used. Most
scientific definitions of content analysis have emphasized attention to manifest content
(Kerlinger, 2000). The requirement is that the content analyst be concerned primarily with
manifest content to ensure intersubjectivity does not mean that latent contents are excluded from
considerations provided that the content analyst establishes explicitly formulated rules and
procedures (Stempel, 1981).

The method of content analysis will be used for the analysis. The Punch and Daily Trust
newspapers were selected for the research. These are the most widely read newspapers in two
regions of the country. The punch is published in the south, and Daily Trust in the North. The
content analysis involved a stepped approach. Samples will be selected using stratified sampling
that yields constructed weeks (Riffe, Aust & Lacy, 1993).
This involved an observation of four content elements in the papers, the general news, features,
news commentary/analysis and editorial. These elements constitute the primary journalistic
output of news media in Nigeria.

To examine the extent of human rights coverage in the selected newspapers, on one hand, we
will compare the frequency of stories dealing with human rights issues to other topics treated in
the newspaper stories. This way, and at this stage dealing with the '(V1) theme' covered in the
stories, a category system is constructed to cover a hypothetical estimate of general themes
covered in news media reports in Nigeria. The first category tabulates general references to
human rights. This would include the simple mention of "human rights," or non-specific
discussions of the topic. On the other hand, the stories dealing with human rights are earmarked
for further analysis, studying a number of variables.

This second level of analysis focuses on placement by section, treatment, origin, sources,
reference to specific categories of human rights, gender focus and Reference to specific
perpetrators of abuse. A category structure is constructed for each of the above variables based
on some prior considerations. Placement and treatment of the rights stories is examined to infer
the weight carried by human rights subjects; whereas the gender focus dimensions are examined
to study the level of gender representation in the coverage; while origin and sources may reveal

30
the influential factors that trigger human rights coverage; and finally, we can infer from the
human rights categories referred and emphasized in the stories the human rights values that
inform journalistic view of human rights in Nigeria.

3.3 Population of the study

The population for this study is all together 88 editions i.e., 44 editions each from The punch and
The Daily Trust newspapers which is summed up to a total of 88 editions. The required sample
size for the study is 20 % of the population.

Nwana (1981) postulates that if a population is in many hundreds, a sample size of 20% is
needed, but if a population is a few thousands, one needs a sample size of 10% and if a
population is of several thousands, one needs a sample of 5% or less. Going by the population
(many hundreds, the researcher used 20%).

3.4 Sample Size of study

Sample size is two (2) newspapers which is the agreed number of subjects to be involved in the
study. It is mostly determined mathematically. The publications to be analyzed by this study
comprises of The Punch and Daily Trust newspapers. However, only editions for the week days
we be selected weekend editions we be exempted because they mostly carry entertainment
stories and special issues such as reviews of the activities of the week, features, entertainment as
well as dedicating most of its pages to specialized areas such as religion, fashion, relationship,
diplomacy among others.

3.5 Sampling Technique

Sampling technique is the procedure that a researcher employ in order to select a workable
number of subjects out of the population. Given that the required sample size is two national
dailies (The Punch and Daily Trust newspapers) out of the 51 national newspapers we have in
the country using the purposive sampling technique. The selection of these newspapers was done
based on their national outlook and circulation nationwide. The convenience of the researcher in
accessing these publications is also a factor considered in making the purposive selection. The
The Punch newspaper is a frontier in the fight for rule of law and accountability in both private
and public sector going by their core values. In light of the above, coverage of human rights
31
issues therefore falls within the areas of their interest. Daily Trust newspaper is also one of the
reputable newspapers we have in the country having won numerous awards for professionalism
and objective coverage of events are committed to world peace and sustainable development.
This also gives them the strong backing to report issues of human rights which is a major factor
that impedes development.

Samples we be selected using stratified sampling that yields constructed weeks (Riffe, Aust &
Lacy, 1993). This is because the entire population is common in nature without too much
diversity. Sampling technique is the procedure that a researcher employ in order to select a
workable number of subjects out of the population.

3.6 Research Instrument

The instrument to be used for data collection initially will be the LexisNexis database, the most
extensive database of newspaper stories and we will cross-reference these results with data from
the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) to obtain circulation figures which are online
resources. Due to the paucity of time, a period of two month is considered for analysis.

3.7 Method of Data Collection

We initially intended to use the LexisNexis database, the most extensive database of newspaper
stories. It is updated weekly and includes almost all major Nigerian newspapers. Our search will
use the following filters: country-Nigeria, type of publication-Daily publication; publication
period-November 2020- December 2020; language-English (there is no option for local Nigerian
languages on the database); word limit-no filter for min/max selected.

Then cross-referenced these results with data from the Advertisers Association of Nigeria
(ADVAN) to obtain circulation figures. Two national daily newspapers, The punch and Daily
Trust, have the highest circulation but are not included in the LexisNexis database. Hence, these
were included along with the top 8 of the national dailies on the ADVAN list. All the newspapers
selected were national dailies. The newspapers thus selected were the 10 most widely read, with
the broadest coverage in Nigeria’s 6 geopolitical zones.

The newspapers included will then be searched, using LexisNexis for the 8 within it, with the
other 2 being searched, in their online editions, manually. Sought to identify articles, defined as

32
news reports, editorials, opinions, interviews, letters and commentaries. The search strategy was
designed to identify news stories relevant to human rights issues in Nigeria, published between
November 2020 and December 2020, in English (which is widely spoken in Nigeria).

3.8 Validating And Reliability of the Research Instrument

The research method we be used as the directed approach to content analysis described by Hsieh
and Shannon (2005).They define qualitative content analysis as “a research method for the
subjective interpretation of the content of text data through the systematic classification process
of coding and identifying themes or patterns.”

This approach is recommended by framing scholars such as de Vreese (2012) and Entman
(1993).

3.9 Method of Data Analysis

In this study, the technique adopted in the data analysis involves the use of tabular presentation
of data collected, and its aggregation in summation and percentages. The measurement of central
tendency was used as well in ascribing value to the data. The hypothesis will be tested with the
aid the formula below;

𝑁
n= x 20
100

Where
n = Stands for sample size,
N = Stands for population.

33