Guarding Against Libel and Injurious Publications By Journalists –By Chief Charles U.A. Nwankwo

A renowned media practitioner who doubles as a lecturer at International Institute of Journalism, IIJ, Abuja (Owerri Study Centre), Chief Charles U. A. Nwankwo has further advised journalists not to allow their writings to betray truth and fairness as they go about their constitutional duties, while charging them to always watch themselves and discourage unfit and improper persons to practice the profession.

Chief Nwankwo stated this at a one day professional development Workshop for practising Journalists in Imo state powered by the Imo state government, the leadership of Imo NUJ, and National Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ Imo state.

Nwankwo painstakingly dwelt on “Guarding Against Libel and Injurious Publications By Journalists where he carefully spelt out the golden rules and regulations guiding Journalists for better media practice.

He highlighted one after the other; the Obligation of the Press, the provisions of Freedom of Information Act(FOIA) 2011, as well as the contextual background of Defamation, charged Journalists at the occasion to follow functional editing guidelines and practices.

Read the Full Paper below:

GUARDING AGAINST LIBEL AND INJURIOUS PUBLICATIONS BY JOURNALISTS, BEING A PAPER DELIVERED BY CHIEF CHARLES U.A NWANKWO LECTURER INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM AT THE ONE DAY PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOP FOR PRACTICING JOURNALISTS IN IMO STATE, AT THE NEW NIGERIA UNION OF JOURNALISTS (NUT) PRESS CENTER (NEW OWERRI) ON TUESDAY JANUARY 31,2023.

It is indeed my honor and privilege to address this distinguished audience and assemblage of journalists at this auspicious occasion of the workshop on the Professional Development of Journalists in Imo State. As a result of the enormous responsibilities bestowed on the mass media, it is now fondly called or described severally as, Watchdog of society”, fourth Estate of the Realm” court of Public Opinion” “Agenda Setter” “Gate Keeper” “ Conscience” of society” etc the saying that the pen is mightier than the sword also goes to explain the awesome powers of the press. Journalism is no longer a simple job that can be performed by just anybody, for journalists to properly play their role in the society of educating, informing and entertaining the Imo State Government consider’s the issue of human resource development of building the professional capacity of media workers very important and therefore went further to mount this workshop for journalists.

Let me at this point salute His Excellency Senator Hope Uzodimma Governor of Imo State for approving and sponsoring this workshop and also express my gratitude to the Hon. Commissioner for Information and strategy for facilitating the approval of this workshop by His Excellency Senator Uzodimma.

I equally commend the efforts of Imo NUJ, The International Institute of Journalism (IIJ) and Nigeria Association of Women (Journalists) for organizing the workshop. I call on the participants to justify the intentions of the Imo State Government and the organizers to take the workshop seriously and put to work all they will learn here for effective service delivery.

THE PROFESSIONAL JOURNALIST

Professional reporters have institutional outlets; newspapers, magazines, radios news magazine, television news shows, networks, press associations, news services and syndicates.

The practice of journalism is so vital and important to society now than ever before. This is because for Nigeria to move forward the media must remain an essential factor in the permanent struggle for the sustenance of democracy and development.

THE NIGERIA UNION OF JOURNALISTS

The Nigeria union of journalists is one of the trade unions recognized by law in Nigeria. The trade union Act Cap T. 14 of the laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004 lists the Nigeria Union of Journalists as number 21 and states its area of jurisdiction to be “All registered journalists in paid employment in media houses, except proprietors and self employed.

Now a trade union means any combination of workers or employers whether temporary or permanently, the purpose of which is to regulate the terms and conditions of employment of workers. There are two important factors in determining whether an association is a trade union or not.

a. The combination must be of workers or employers and

b. It must have the purpose that is the regulation of the terms and conditions of employment of workers.

The Nigeria union of journalists has a constitution and every member is bound by the provisions of the constitution. The mission and vision statement of the union is stated to be “Journalism entails a high degree of public trust. To earn and maintain this trust, it is morally imperative for every journalist and every news medium to observe the highest professional and ethical standards.

In the exercise of these duties a journalist should always have a healthy regard for the public interest”

Truth is the cornerstone of journalism and every journalist should strive diligently and every journalist should strive to ascertain the truth of every event”.

Based on this mission and vision statement, the Nigeria union of journalists enacted some code of Ethics for Nigerian journalists.

Therefore it is the duty of every journalist to observe the provision of the code of Ethics.

TRADITIONAL ROLE OF JOURNALISM

Also Section 39. Provides, interalia that:

1. Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinion and to receive and impact ideas and information without interference.

2. Without prejudice to the generality of sub-section (1) of this section, every person shall be entitled to own, established and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinion”.

3. This freedom of expression which is the hallmark of press freedom is guaranteed under the constitution for not only every person, including the press (journalists) entitled to hold and express opinions freely but also to receive and impart ideas and information provisions that are in consonance with the traditional roles of journalism.

FREEDOM NOT ABSOLUTE

This freedom is not in absolute term it is freedom at large or one intended to give immunity to every possible use of language or expression.

The law, reason and society therefore do not allow unrestricted liberty to publish at large not minding the consequences of such publications and their effect on individual and public rights. So apart from the constitutional restrictions in the proviso to section 39 which requires that “no person other than the government of the federation or of a state or any other person or body authorized by the president or the fulfillment of conditions laid down by an act of the National Assembly shall own establish or operate a television or wireless broadcasting station or any purpose whatsoever”.

However, there are other restrictions in the areas of obscenity, sedition and defamation. Our concern of course from the topic chosen for discussion is the restriction imposed by the aspect of the law dealing with defamation and for our purpose, libel.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2011
The provisions of section 39 of the 1999 constitution is of general application and not of specific application for the press. The press considered the provisions of section 39 of the 1999 constitution in adequate for its activities functions and professional responsibilities.

Consequent to this inadequacy the Nigeria Union of Journalists spare headed the agitation for the promulgation of the freedom of information Act the agitation yielded fruit when the national Assembly enacted the freedom of information Act 2011.

The reasoning behind the enactment of the Act is stated to be as follows:

An Act to make public records and information more freely available, provide for public access to public records and information, protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the profession of personal privacy, protect serving public officers from adverse consequences or disclosing certain kinds of official information without authorization and establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes and for related matters.

But it should not be misunderstood that freedom guaranteed under section 39 (1) of the 1999 constitution and the freedom of information act 2011 is a license for defamation as it is equally guaranteed that those who run foul of the law of defamation cannot call in aid this freedom.

DEFAMATION
A Journalist is a subject to the law of defamation just like any other person. Defamation is an intentional false communication, either published or publicly spoken that injures another reputation or good name.

It is generally said that a good name is better than riches and people will go to great lengths to protect their reputation from injury. an individual or institution has a right not to be maligned and damaged by the press, unless the publication is for good purpose and is limited to truth or fair comment. Defamation consist of injury to reputation resulting from false words, written or spoken. Spoken defamatory words constitute the tort of slander while printed defamatory word constitute the tort of libel. Libel is defamation in a permanent form while slander is defamation in a transient form.

Statement and utterances would be defamatory while they tend to lower the reputation and esteem of the aggrieved in the eyes of right thinking members of the public, or expose him to contempt, ridicule and hatred or have the resultant effect of making people avoid him or shun his company, discredit him in his profession, trade or office or injure his financial credibility.

It is necessary to note however that words that might be considered defamatory in one societal context may not necessarily be the same in a different one, and what is considered defamatory may change from time to time and with changing societal perceptions. Printed words in book, newspapers, magazines etc. can be libelous if they defame a person and injure his reputation films, photographs and painting may also be libelous depending on the circumstance. Defamatory words in a broadcast either radio or television are actionable as libel.

Publication is an essential ingredient of the tort of defamation. The words must be published to someone other than the plaintiff. To succeed in an action of this nature, the plaintiff must prove that the words were defamatory.

However, an innuendo can equally be defamatory. An innuendo may not of itself be defamatory, but it has a hidden contemptuous meaning that lowers and injures the reputation because of the inference which reasonable members of the society would draw from the words themselves.

SLANDER
Slander is the speaking of base and defamatory words tending to prejudice another in his reputation, community standing, office, trade, business or means of livelihood.

Libel and slander are both methods of defamation, the former being expressed by print, writing, pictures or signs, the latter by oral expressions or transitory gestures.

For the purposes of law of libel and slander the broadcasting of words is treated as publication in permanent form. Refer to section 3 of the 1962 Defamation Law of Eastern Nigeria which is applicable to Imo State.

DEFENCES TO DEFAMATION
The legal defences to the tort of defamation include
1. Justification
2. Fair comment
3. Privilege
4. Unintentional defamation

The main roles of the media can be summed up as follows:
a. To inform
b. To educate
c. To entertain

Currently gaining acceptance is a fourth role which is to arouse people’s consciousness, by creating empathy within them and mobilizing them to achieve specific national and developmental tasks.

THE NIGERIA CONSTITUTION AND THE MASS MEDIA

The above traditional roles are further given impetus, force and effect by certain provisions of the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 amended.

OBLIGATION OF THE PRESS

Section 22 of that constitution (though under the fundamental objectives and Directive Principles of state policy in chapter 2) provides that:

“the press, radio, television and other Agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in the chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to its people” this section of the constitution gave the mass media a very important obligation of ensuring the existence of good governance by all organs of government in Nigeria.

JUSTIFICATION:
Where the published words are true in fact or substantially true, no action lies in law because the publication becomes justified, in as much as the record stated is correct.

FAIR COMMENT
The essence of the deference of fair comment is that the statement made or the words spoken constitute a fair comment of the particular incident or issues in question, fair comment is a deference for comments relating to matters of public interest, eg government affairs, public institutions, administration of justice.

The requisites of the plea of fair comment are:
1. The matter commented on must be of public interest
2. It must be an expression of opinion and not an assertion of fact.
3. The comment must be fair ie it must be based on true facts accurately
4. The comments must not be malicious

PRIVILEGE
There are certain occasions when the law recognizes that there ought not to be liability for defamation in the interest of public policy or of the community. Such occasions are deemed by the law to be “privileged”.

Privilege may be either absolute or qualified. The defense of absolute privilege may be pleaded in cases where the publication of the matter is of paramount public importance.

ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE
The occasion of absolute privilege may be classified as follows;

1. Judicial Privilege eg statements, made in proceedings before superior and inferior courts are absolutely privileged, provided it has some reference to the inquiry in hand.
   The privilege extends to other tribunals recognized by law, provided that they are exercising judicial functions.
2. Legal professional privilege protects absolutely any communication between a client and his legal advisers.
3. Official privilege will include communications made by one officer of state to another in the course of his official duty and military reports.
4. Parliamentary privilege will protect statements made in the House of Representatives, Houses of Assembly and reports, papers, votes and papers votes and proceedings ordered to be published by them.
5. Statutory privilege: the Defamation Acts, 1961 and the similar state enactments provide that a fair and accurate report in any newspaper of proceedings publicly heard before any court exercising judicial authority within Nigeria is if published contemporaneously with such proceedings, privileged but this does not authorize the publication of any blasphemous or indecent matter.

 

 

QUALIFIED PRIVILEGE

1. Instances of qualified privilege.
2. Statements made in the performance of a duty, legal, moral or social
3. Statements made in the protection or furtherance of an interest, private or public.
4. Statements made in the protection of a common interest e.g in family matters, a bishop’s charge to his congregation.
5. Reports in a newspaper or broadcast. At common law a fair and accurate report in a newspaper of parliamentary and judicial proceedings and of certain public meetings attracted qualified privilege.
   
   UNINTENTIONAL DEFAMATION
   
   This defence is available to a person who makes a defamatory statement or causes same to be published innocently.
   A statement will be considered to have been made innocently where the publisher either did not intend to publish them or the words used were not patently defamatory and he did not know that they might be defamatory of the plaintiff. For the defence to avail a person he must show that once his attention was drawn to the defamatory statement, he offered to make amends either to tender an apology or to retract the printed matter from circulation.
   
   OBSCENE PUBLICATIONS
   Obscene means grossly and repulsively indecent, lewd and tending to deprave or corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences. On a conviction under this section, the court may order the confiscation and destruction of the obscene publication.
   
   The obscenity laws in Nigeria are derivable form notions of decency and societal or community morality.
   
   SEDITIOUS LIBEL
   Seditious Libel is a written communication with intents to incite the people to change the government otherwise than by lawful means or to advocate the overthrow of the government by force or violence.

The Law of sedition was introduced into Nigeria by Governor Egerton who was greatly annoyed by a publication by Herbert Macaulay of a pamphlet titled GOVERNOR EGERTON AND THE RAINWAY in September 1908. Governor Egerton was piqued by this publication that he wrote to the Secretary of state urging the enactment of a seditious ordinance.

Sediton is still an offence in Nigeria section 51 of the criminal code provides
51 (1). Any person who
(a) does or attempts to do or makes any preparation to do or conspires with any person to do and act with a seditious intention.

(b) Utters any seditious words.

(c) Prints, published, sell offers for sells, distribute or reproduce any seditious publication.

(d) Imports any seditious publication, unless he has no reasons to believe that it is seditious shall be guilty of an offence and liable to conviction for a first offence to imprisonment for two years or to a fine of Two hundred naira or to both imprisonment and fine and for a subsequent offence to imprisonment for three years and any seditious publication shall be fortified to the state.

CONTEMPT OF COURT
Contempt of Court is any act which is calculated to embarrass hinder or obstruct court in the administration of justice or which is calculated to lessen its authority or its dignity.

Contempt are generally of two kids:

(a) Direct contempt’s or contempt in facie curiae and
(b) Constructive or indirect or contempt ex facie curiae

Direct contempts are those committed in the immediate view and presence of the court (such as insulting Language or acts of violence) or so near the presence of the court as to obstruct or interrupt the due and orderly course of proceedings. These are punished summarity.

Constructive (or indirect) contempts are those which arise from matters not occurring in or near the presence of the courts but which tend to obstruct or defeats the administration of justice and the terms is chiefly with reference to the failure or refusal of a party to obey a lawful order, injunction or decree of the court laying upon him a duty of action or forbearance, so contempt of court is any act or conduct that tends to bring into disrespect or disrepute the authority of the court or administration of justice eg any publication in any newspaper which is likely to prejudice the fair trial of any person is contempt of the court. Any publication in a newspaper misrepresenting proceeding of a court is contempt.

Any publication in a newspaper circulated to obstruct the course of justice is a mischievous, despicable and inexcusable contempt as it is capable of destroying the very foundation on which the judicial system is built.

THE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
With regards to the forgoing discussion on the law of libel generally and in relation to the practice of journalism as a profession it is pertinent that journalists need a lot of care, prudence, discipline, intellectual competence, sound education good candour and disposition towards articulate writing if they and the organizations they work for will not foul of the law of defamation.

It is to ensure good practice and high professional standards among members of the profession that the Nigeria Press Council Act Cap N128 Vol.12 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 was passed with adequate provision in Section 3, 9, 16.17 and 20 to regulate the profession and deal with various cases of default and misconduct on the part of practitioners to acquaint themselves with law of defamation and the Nigeria Press Council Act.

Also most libel cases can be avoided by following functional editing guide lines and practices. Information must be accurate, language must be precise, facts must be clearly distinguished from opinion. Vaque language that create false impressions (such as suggesting that some one is guilty of a crime when he or she has merely been charged).

Journalists should avoid shallow sourcing and poor attribution that make it seem as though the reporter has not researched the story carefully.

Representing speculations or conclusions based on scanty evidence of facts.

Also they should avoid imprecise names and addresses that create false identification.

CONCLUSION
You all will appreciate that the founding fathers of the journalism practice in Nigeria used the press to fight for the independence of Nigeria. It therefore behoves the present day journalists to use their profession to see to the continued existence of Nigeria as a nation where there is good government and welfare of all persons based on the principles of freedom equality and justice.

We must not allow our writing to betray truth and fairness and above all we must watch ourselves and discourage unfit and improper persons to practice the profession.

Thanks you all for listening and Remain blessed.

Charles U.A Nwankwo
Resource Person / Lecturer
International Institute of Journalism
Abuja (Owerri Study Centre)
Owerri January, 2023.