The Director-General of UNESCO, Khaled El-Enany, on Monday raised the alarm over growing threats to journalists worldwide, saying 189 journalists were killed in 2024 and 2025, with six out of every seven cases remaining unpunished.
Speaking at the annual free safety symposium for journalists organised by the Media Centre for Promotion of Safety Awareness in Lagos to commemorate the 2026 United Nations Day for Safety of Journalists, El-Enany maintained that there was an urgent need for stronger measures to protect media professionals and end impunity for crimes against journalists.
According to him, 67 per cent of the journalists killed during the two-year period lost their lives in conflict zones, which he said showed the increasing dangers confronting media professionals in different parts of the world.
He said armed conflicts accounted for 59 per cent of journalist killings recorded in 2024 and 2025, while other emerging threats included gender-based online violence, particularly targeting women journalists.
He stressed that these threats undermine press freedom, freedom of expression and the public’s right to access information.
El-Enany, who disclosed that the findings were contained in UNESCO’s 2026 Director-General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, acknowledged that progress had been recorded in addressing impunity. He noted that since 2012, impunity for journalist killings in countries not affected by conflict had declined by 17 percentage points.
He attributed the progress to sustained international cooperation and initiatives implemented under the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists.
El-Enany called on governments, media organisations and civil society groups to intensify efforts to tackle threats against journalists, both online and offline.
According to him, protecting journalists is essential to defending freedom of expression, strengthening democracy and safeguarding the fundamental rights of citizens.
The Convener of the Media Centre for Promotion of Safety Awareness, Dr Chinyere Amaechi, in her remarks, warned that journalists in Nigeria were increasingly exposed to danger while covering elections, describing election assignments as among the most hazardous responsibilities in the media profession.
Amaechi, who spoke on the theme, “Election Safety: Reporting Without Being Impugned”, said the symposium was particularly important as Nigeria prepared for the 2027 general elections.
She recalled incidents of attacks and intimidation against journalists during previous elections, including the death of Pelumi Onifade, who was covering the #EndSARS protests; attacks on Television Continental (TVC) journalists covering elections; and the destruction of a reporter’s camera in Ado-Ekiti while he was filming alleged ballot snatching.
Amaechi also cited data from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, Reporters Without Borders and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, which she said showed that more than 40 attacks on journalists were recorded during the 2023 general elections.
She said an Arise News television crew was attacked at a collation centre, while journalists and their equipment were subjected to intimidation and destruction in different locations, including Edo State.
She also recalled the online and physical harassment of senior journalists covering political debates, stressing that such incidents demonstrated the growing hostility confronting media professionals during electoral processes.
The convener lamented that, despite the reported attacks during the 2023 elections, perpetrators had largely escaped accountability.
She warned that failure to punish crimes against journalists emboldens perpetrators and creates an atmosphere of fear that could discourage journalists from performing their constitutional responsibilities.
Earlier, the former Managing Director of Champion Newspapers, Mr Ugo Onuoha, identified the failure of successive Nigerian governments to guarantee citizens’ security and welfare as a major factor contributing to violence against journalists.
Delivering his lecture, titled “Safety of Journalists: The Foundation for Press Freedom and Democracy”, Onuoha contended that the constitutional responsibility of the government to protect lives and property extends to journalists and other media professionals.
He argued that successive administrations had failed to provide adequate security and welfare for Nigerians, creating an environment characterised by hardship, insecurity and political tension.
“Journalists have increasingly become targets because their professional responsibilities often involve exposing wrongdoing, challenging those in authority, and holding public officials accountable,” he said.
The former media chief said political leaders and their supporters had frequently played significant roles in creating the conditions that expose journalists to danger.
He further criticised the prevailing culture of impunity, saying the absence of consequences for perpetrators of violence encourages further attacks against media professionals.
Onuoha maintained that although press freedom is guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution, the protection it offers remains largely ineffective when those in positions of authority disregard the law.
He urged journalists, media organisations and professional associations to speak out against violations of press freedom and defend colleagues who face intimidation for carrying out their legitimate duties.
However, he acknowledged that journalists must also uphold professional standards, stressing that shortcomings in a reporter’s conduct could never justify violence or murder.
On Nigeria’s electoral system, Onuoha argued that the winner-takes-all mentality associated with the country’s presidential system had contributed to the increasing desperation and violence surrounding elections.
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