The press is a critical agent for the protection of democracy and development and must be supported to enable them to effectively discharge their constitutional duties as the watchdog of the society, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said.

It observed that Nigerian journalists fought very hard to achieve the nation’s democratic status and deserve a better deal, unlike the current situation where many of them struggle with poor conditions of service among other challenges, including censorship, harassment, intimidation, and in some cases, assassinations.

NHRC Executive Secretary, TONY OJUKWU, made the remarks on the eve of the celebration of the 2022 World Press Freedom Day which is commemorated annually on May 3.

He asked the society to see journalists as the oxygen of democracy and agents of change and development, adding that their constitutional duty which is enshrined in Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution as amended to hold the government accountable to the people distinguishes them as those who perform an essential duty to the nation.

The Chief Human Rights Officer stated that it is incontestable that the advent of the internet with the attendant boost in digital communication has benefited humanity in various ways but at the same time, it has threatened our right to privacy, since virtually nothing is hidden from the internet radar.

According to him, the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day is not an opportunity to witch-hunt any person or institution but is a period to reminisce the fundamental principles of press freedom, gauge the state of press freedom globally, defend the media from attacks on their independence, and to pay tribute to journalists who are either human rights defenders in custody or captivity or have lost their lives in the line of duty.