On July 21, the JNI, Secretary-General, Justice Abdulkadir Orire, included the "fatwa" in the publication of its yearly report. The “fatwa” on Nduka Obiagbena, a publisher for ThisDay, and Isioma Daniel, a former reporter for ThisDay, stands as a continuation of an initial “fatwa” on Daniel subsequent a controversial article she published on November 16, 2002.
Although the newspaper issued a comprehensive apology due to the article’s allegedly blasphemous nature, the Kaduna office was burned down by a group of protesters and was also banned through a State Assembly decision in the neighboring Kano State. "This death sentence exacerbates an already intolerable climate of fear and oppression for the media in Nigeria," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.
White reiterated the importance of a statement he made in a letter to the Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on November 27 last year: “Quality journalism will not emerge from terror and the reactions against the newspaper and its staff have now touched intolerable and hysterical proportions”.
Following this letter, IFJ’s partner in Nigeria, the International Press Centre (IPC) organized a one-day roundtable on Media and Religion in Lagos. Among the issues resolved in this meeting were the following:
The IFJ demands that the “fatwah” on both journalists should be lifted or cancelled immediately. “Taking into account the apology by ThisDay, the Nigerian government must proactively push all parties concerned to enter into dialogue in an attempt to find a solution to this issue in order to prevent further catastrophes," said White.
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The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists. in more than 100 countries