The Nigerian press has been under sustained state pressure since the Buhari-Idiagbon military government enacted Decree No. 4 of 1984 (Public Officers (Protection Against False Accusation)), under which any journalist who 'embarrasses' a public officer could be jailed for two years without right of appeal. The Decree was used immediately to jail Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor of The Guardian. It set the template for every subsequent military media decree.
Abridged register:
- 1984 — Decree 4 (Buhari-Idiagbon). Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor jailed.
- 19 October 1986 — Dele Giwa, founding editor of Newswatch, killed by parcel bomb at his Ikeja home. See Dele Giwa.
- 1987 — Newswatch proscribed for six months for publishing extracts of the Cookey Political Bureau Report.
- 1993 — Babangida proscribes The News, AM News, Tell, Tempo, The Punch, Concord and the Sketch group after they cover the June 12 annulment.
- 1994 — Abacha extends the proscriptions; Tell editors Nosa Igiebor and George Mbah jailed.
- 1995 — Abacha's Special Military Tribunals convict The News and Tell journalists Christine Anyanwu (15 years, reduced), Kunle Ajibade (life, reduced to 15 years), George Mbah (life) on charges related to the 1995 coup-plot trial.
- 1996 — Tell and TheNEWS go fully underground; staff print from safe houses in Lagos and Cotonou.
- Aug 1998 — Bagauda Kaltho (The News) bombed in Kaduna under unresolved circumstances. Investigation by Soyinka-led Oputa Panel inconclusive.
- 2003–2007 — Obasanjo-era harassment of THIS DAY (Nduka Obaigbena) and Insider Weekly (Janet Mba-Afolabi).
- 2014 — DSS raid on Daily Trust offices in Abuja, Lagos and Maiduguri over Boko Haram coverage.
- 2017 — DSS raid on Premium Times offices in Abuja; detention of editor Dapo Olorunyomi and reporter Evelyn Okakwu.
- 2019 — Dapchi DSS arrest of Premium Times stringer.
- Jan 2019 — Soldiers raid Daily Trust offices in Maiduguri, Lagos, Abuja over Boko Haram troop-movement coverage.
- 2021 — Twitter banned for seven months after deletion of a Buhari tweet.
- 2022 — Peoples Gazette reporters arrested over First Lady reporting.
- 2023 — Premium Times editor Azu Ishiekwene detained briefly under the Tinubu administration over a column.
- 2024 — Daily Trust Editor-in-Chief Mannir Dan Ali profile and Premium Times Samuel Ogundipe both subject to DSS invitations during the year.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented Nigeria's consistent classification as one of the ten most dangerous African countries for journalists since 1985. The legal framework (Cybercrimes Act 2015, Section 24 in particular) provides the modern statutory basis for harassment, supplementing the older Criminal Code defamation provisions. See also Dele Giwa, Most Arrested Journalist.