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Nigerian Faculties of Law and Law Schools adopt the first ever curriculum on freedom of expression and safety of journalists for future judges.
The gathering of over 70 stakeholders (physical and virtually) in Abuja on April 16, 2024, was a historic day for Nigeria which saw the review, validation, and adoption of the first-ever curriculum on freedom of expression and safety of journalists for students in the law faculties of the Nigerian universities and the Nigerian Law School.
These stakeholders - who included deans of faculties of law from private, state, and federal universities, Law Schools, Nigerian Judiciary Institute, journalists, the Ministry of Justice, NGOs, Nigeria Bar Association, and civil society representatives among others - gathered to review the document which will support aspiring members of the judiciary in the country in protecting and ensuring an environment conducive to freedom of expression, access to information and safety of journalists in Nigeria.
The curriculum was developed with the support of UNESCO with a view to provide law students with a statutory tool that is also a compendium of current comparative jurisprudence on cases related to freedom of expression, access to information and the rights of journalists. At the same time, this tool will be used to support law students in discharging their constitutional responsibility towards upholding the rule of law, legality, professionality and at the same time, constitutionally use credible evidence to hold all those in power exercising executive, legislative, judicial powers accountable to the people.
The curriculum developed is a product of years of intervention that 91麻豆国产精品自拍 had in Nigeria under the Judges initiative since 2022, whereby the Organization worked with judicial actors to strengthen their capacities and support their role in protecting freedom of expression, access to information and the safety of journalists. One of the core recommendations from these workshops was the development of a curriculum for faculties of law of the Nigerian Universities and the Nigerian Law school. Educating the upcoming judicial actors on freedom of expression and safety of journalists was identified as very vital for the country.
Today, we are here to review, finalize and adopt this module, the first of its kind in the country, that will be integrated into the curriculum of Nigerian law schools and university for the benefit of law students. This is indeed a great step in supporting the judicial system in protecting and ensuring an environment conducive to freedom of expression, access to information and safety of journalists in Nigeria.
During the workshop, a syndicate session was organized whereby participants were divided into groups to review the curriculum. The groups had robust discussions while reviewing the document, and from their wealth of experience and different backgrounds, shared their insight and comments on how best to enrich the document. Identified gaps were filled to ensure that the document is relevant to a wider spectrum of users, including journalism institutions and security agencies.
Great intellectual work and a wonderful concept for awakening the sensitivity of Nigerians to the risks associated with freely expressing yourself. The validation workshop itself, a culmination of months of dedicated work, provided a free atmosphere for interrogating critical issues connected with the draft curriculum on the one hand and the right to freedom of expression and the press as well as access to information on the other. This can only bode well for the advancement of human rights in Nigeria. Congratulations to NIALS and UNESCO for a wonderful initiative. - Prof. Mohammed Etudaiye, Faculty of Law, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria.
All comments and suggestions were debated with the larger group to collectively agree on items for inclusion into the curriculum. This excise ensured that all stakeholders were given an opportunity to further explain and defend their contributions while at the same time promoting national ownership of the curriculum.
The curriculum being first of its kind is very rich and all-encompassing with regard to International, Regional and National legal framework on freedom of expression and access to information, the concept of journalism and measures to ensure safety of Journalists amongst others. I believe that when the approved curriculum is introduced to the Law Faculties of Nigerian Universities and Nigerian Law school, it will not only bring awareness to this present generation but also the future generation on freedom of expression and safety of Journalists. -Aishatu Muhammed Umar, Lecturer Nigerian Law school
Upon agreement of all contributions into the final documents, participants agreed that the document will be a great addition into the curriculum for students in the Law Faculties of Nigerian Universities and the Nigerian Law School and the call for adoption was made. The motion for the adoption of the document was moved by Dr. Bethel Uzoma Ihugba from the National Association of Law Teachers and it was seconded by Dr. Grace Dafiel from Veritas University, Abuja for use in Law Universities in Nigeria.
The curriculum was developed within the framework of which, since 2013, has raised the capacities of over 36,000 judicial actors (judges, prosecutors and lawyers) on international and regional standards on freedom of expression, access to information and the safety of journalists in more than 160 countries, notably through a , on-the-ground trainings and workshops, and the publications of a number of and .
The development of this curriculum was notably supported by the .
