NOTES

UNDERSTANDING ETHICS & MEDIA LAW 

(Adapted Note From Guest Coach, Mr. Richard Akinnola, Director of Media Law Centre)

USUAL MISTAKES 

Headline -
"FG sues Dino Melaye over alleged lies on assassination attempt"

WRONG!

You "SUE" in a civil case but you are "CHARGED" to court in a criminal case.
The headline should have been - "FG charges Dino to court for false information"
Also, there is a difference between CHARGING someone to court, and ARRAIGNING someone.
 When criminal charges are preferred against someone, he is "CHARGED" but when he enters the dock and his plea is taken, he is "ARRAIGNED".
Akinnola
Sometimes, someone can be CHARGED without being ARRAIGNED. The charges can be withdrawn. It would therefore be defamatory if someone was not arraigned and he is published as being arraigned when the charges against him were withdrawn.

FINE AND DAMAGES
A usual mistake is using the words "FINE" and "DAMAGES" interchangeably. Fine is used for criminal cases, while damages is for civil matters.

Many times, reporters have said Mr. A was fined xyz for a breach of contract. You can't fine someone for a breach of contract which is civil.

XX

REPORTING RESTRICTIONS
It is illegal for anyone to either take photographs or tape-record proceedings in a court room.
In England, the Criminal Justice Act 1925, a provision which Nigeria also imbibed states:
"No person shall (a) take or attempt to take in any court, photograph or with a view to publication, make or attempt to make in any court, any portrait or sketch of any person, being a judge  of the court, or a juror or a witness in or a party to any proceedings before the court, whether Civil or Criminal or (b) publish any photograph, portrait or sketch taken or made in contravention of this

Court scene in the US

Section or any reproduction thereof. "
However, this does not apply to tribunals or panel of inquiries. 
-This exception is due to the fact that such panels or administrative or judicial Commissions are quasi-judicial bodies that cannot try and convict. 
-They are not 'normal' courts in the sense that they may have non-judicial officers as members. 
-They are tribunals of inquiry without any power to convict or acquit. Nobody is under trial before them. 
-They are usually fact-finding bodies that wind up after completing their assignments.

XX

MINORS:
There are legal provisions that protect minors or juveniles from the glare of publicity, either in normal courts or in juvenile courts.
Young persons are defined as those who have attained the age of 14 years but under 17 years.
The law also provides that the identities of minors shall not be revealed when they appear in court, either to answer to charges or as witness.
Similarly, the photograph of the juvenile shall not be taken nor published as far as that proceeding is concerned.
- This position has been given more muscle by the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria which states:
"Whenever any person is charged with a criminal offence, he shall, unless the charge is withdrawn, be entitled to a fair hearing in public, within a reasonable time by a court or tribunal:
Provided that -
(a) a court or such tribunal may exclude from its proceedings, persons other than the parties thereto or their legal practitioners in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, the welfare of persons who have not attained the age of eighteen years, the protection of the private lives of the parties or to such extent as it may consider necessary by reason of special circumstances in which publicity would be contrary to the interests of justice."
This provision of the Constitution puts a restriction on the coverage of minors and some other sets of people, depending on the circumstances. 
Also, it is imperative that while reporting minors, either in the newspapers or on the television, particularly in cases of rape, the faces of the minors MUST be screened off, while their names also must not be mentioned in order to protect their identities.
- Unfortunately, this is one area in which many of our newspapers go wrong.

DEFENCES FOR DEFAMATION
The four major defences for libel are:
1. JUSTIFICATION
2. ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE
3. QUALIFIED PRIVILEGE
4. FAIR COMMENT

(Fuller details may be on request)

XX
(C) theclearancelab.com

CRIMINAL LIBEL
Apart from being a tort, defamation can also be a criminal offence. Under section 373 of the Criminal code, a convict is liable to one year in prison.
- As a Judicial Editor in Concord, l once did a story that almost got my hands burnt.
I had my facts but the Nigerian factor was at work.
I did a write-up in my law column that Godwin Daboh was the first Nigerian to be convicted for engaging in 419.
I analysed the case which happened  in the 70s.
... (text edited)

He argued therefore,  that he was no longer an ex- convict as l portrayed him and that he was going to sue.
But the Nigerian factor came into play. Every gazette published must be in the library or archive of the Ministry of Justice.
I rummaged through the archives of the Ministry of Justice but that particular gazette was missing.
... (text edited)

It was purportedly signed by IBB a day before he "stepped" aside. The gazette was suspicious because its number was strange. Gani himself doubted the authenticity of the document.
But if Daboh had gone to court, the government of the day would have validated the document as genuine...
... (text edited)

Eventually,  he didn't sue and the matter died there.
This is an exceptional circumstance though. But l just shared it for us to be more circumspect.

Q: Why didn't he sue sir?
A: You see, many people threaten to sue but they don't because they have questionable background.
- Sometimes, they just file a writ to put an end to further discussion on the matter and claim that the matter is sub judice.
- Their intention is not to pursue the case but to gag. It is called gagging writ.

Q: What is sub judice sir?
A: Sub judice means a matter is in court, hence you can't discuss about the matter in the media.

l
Chief Abiola
*Another case l want to highlight is the case of Governor Bisi Onabanjo v Concord. 
Concord, in its edition of May 8,1980 published a story under the headline - 
"Onabanjo's N250,000 UK fun 
- Governor spends leave abroad at government expense
. ..and tongues wag over huge expenditure"
The Governor's grouse was that the story depicted him as guilty of abuse of office; that he had improperly diverted public funds for personal pleasure  and he sued National Concord for defamation.
During the hearing, Concord had no evidence to back up the publication and Governor Onabanjo proved that he went on the trip with his personal funds.
The court awarded damages in the sum of N250,000 against Concord Press.

Chief Onabanjo

Please note: At the time of the publication,  Concord publisher, MKO Abiola was in NPN, while Onabanjo was in UPN.  So, it was possible that the publication was meant to embarrass the Governor of an opposing party. This is also possible today, depending on proprietor's political  interest.

*After his retirement from the Bench, Dr. Akinola Aguda, one of the best judges in Nigeria during his time, ran a legal consultancy outfit. And he once told me that two cases that he never accepted from clients were defamation and divorce - because he said you may win in court but lose in the court of public opinion
... (text edited)

So, let's discuss briefly on the effect of a wrong and libellous headline.
There was the case of a lawyer who impregnated a secondary school girl.
The young girl had the child but the lawyer refused to take care of the needs of the girl.
In the headline of the story, the newspaper said: "Lawyer sued for negligence". 
But what the sub-editor wanted to say was that that "Lawyer sued for neglect".
So, the parent of the girl decided to sue the lawyer.
There is a difference between "negligence" and "neglect".
The lawyer sued the newspaper for libel, stating that by accusing him of negligence,  any right-thinking person would think that he was negligent in his duty as a lawyer, which is a serious allegation.
The court found the newspaper liable for defamation and awarded  damages in favour of the lawyer.

XX

Also, there is a difference between what is true and what you can publish.  A story may be true but if you don't have the facts to back it up, drop it.
A subject can deny your stories if you don't have any back-up evidence. Let me give an example. 
 ... (text edited)

XX

DISCLOSURE OF SOURCES
On the issue of Disclosure Of Source Of Information,  it is ethically and legally wrong.
... (text edited)

Thompson with PMB
This is aside the issue of Ethical Mandate of non-disclosure.
It was for this same reason that Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor went to jail on Decree 4 because the then NSO wanted the source of their story, which they declined to give.
Therefore, it is impossible for any journalist to disclose his/her sources of information.  It is both ethically and legally wrong.
... (text edited)

XX

**You should also beware of repeating false stories, particularly in this age of social media because you are vicariously liable.
And this is in respect of defamation and section 24 of the Cybercrimes law.
Even radio and TV stations who have newspaper reviews in their schedules, if you rebroadcast a libellous story, you are equally liable. It is no defence that you were not the primary publisher.
... (text edited)

XX

When you are confronted with the dilemma of using a particular story, particularly when you feel it may be defamatory; you need to convince yourself if it is worth it.  For instance, the trouble a newspaper goes through in defending a libellous case... Apart from legal fees of the lawyer, each time the case comes up, you still have to pay for some logistics.
Let me give an example,  a newspaper was sued for libel but the plaintiff, in an attempt to further punish the newspaper, filed the case in Gombe State. In other words,  it further increases your litigation costs as you have to fly your lawyer to Gombe on each day of hearing, apart from accommodation and feeding. And of course, if your lawyer is a SAN, he has to go with at least one junior, because SANs don't appear alone. They must appear with juniors.  So, when you factor in all these stress, you need to convince yourself if that particular story is worth it.
A major canon in journalism is "when in doubt, leave out".

XX

There is also the need to distinguish between
REMOVAL and IMPEACHMENT.  Though impeachment is also removal (as far as President, Vice President, Governors and deputy Governors are concerned) you don't  impeach a Speaker of the House of Assembly.  Ditto for the National Assembly.
This is a COMMON MISTAKE. The difference is that impeachment is a serious process that involves all the three arms of government  - legislature,  executive and judiciary.  It's a long process.
Akinnola with ADC-1 Trainees
The legislature brings serious allegations against the executive, President or Governor.  He responds, and then the Chief Justice of the Federation or the Chief Judge of a state sets up a panel before the process is completed.
So, we need to stop making this mistake
However, in the case of the removal of the Speaker, it's only an internal affair of the House. Once two thirds of members don't want a particular Speaker and they sign a paper for his removal, it can be done in 30 minutes. The Speaker does not have to commit any offence before his removal unlike the case of President and Governors where "gross misconduct" must have occurred.  Though gross misconduct is such fluid terminology, depending on who is alleging.

FAJ: "The environment when Thompson/Irabor refused to give up their source was military and under the dreaded Decree 4 of Buhari... They stayed strong, and sat in prison for several months! How much more now, with almost limitless freedom and liberties - don't be afraid to do the right thing".

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ORIENTATION MATERIALS FOR INTAKES TO OUR PROGRAMMES 

* RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

- Where there is no law, chaos is inevitable.

To function effectively and benefit maximally, kindly obey the following instructions:

* In the class, do not USE foul words, derisive innuendos or profanities. Class!

* Readjust and redress when corrected - to AVOID "error-regretted" in your future. Integrity!

* Respond briefly and cogently to discussions, questions, comments, etc. Avoid NEEDLESS and prolonged arguments. Brevity!

* It is critically OFFENSIVE to post materials, jokes, clips, chain-posts, news updates (of any type) and such IRRELEVANT spams/posts/memes on the WhatsApp platform. Focus!

* Except otherwise instructed, do not post anything on the WhatsApp group. Control!

* Captains (Co-Equal Admins) shall be appointed for the class/group by the Coach - please, OBEY their offices. Decency!

* It is vital that participants arrive class at least five (5) minutes before regulation time to input their "Presence" on the class Register. Three consecutive ABSENCES will be injurious to the certification process.  Discipline!

* On no occasion shall comments in the group or class be "EXPORTED" to any other platform or medium without the original writer's or speaker's permission. Honesty!

* We are training to be better practitioners; therefore, our comments must be in wholesome, clear and UNDERSTANDABLE form and presentation: in speech - with proper diction, clarity, non-vernacular and similar positive traits; in writing - with correct spelling and punctuations; without abbreviations, slangs/jargons, undue initials, "todayspeak", etc. Professionalism!

* THE ADVISORY

- Communication Art is a paradox: It is not held back by strong attachment to age, titles, gender, religion, conventions, etc; yet its fabric is knitted by regard for operational hierarchy, talent, discipline, perseverance, fairness, civility, fundamental rights, dignity, etc. Let these positive elements pervade your thoughts and actions.

* Respect for self, others, senior colleagues and subjects of your engagements is sacrosanct - even as it is reciprocal. The mean-minded will sooner be demeaned.

* What you say or write & how you speak or write (structure, style, form, spelling, diction, etc) will define and sign-post you. Be deliberate and proactive.
Louisa Iseji at SC-1 

* In anger, do not write or speak! In fact, do not kick-start the thinking process. It is often the way to mischief, sensationalism, slander, libel and disgrace.

* It is helpful to allocate time for writing, correcting and proofing, before pasting onto the group/class, or anywhere. Much leaven (error) destroys the bread.

* It is great to be spontaneous - but be responsible even as you are responsive. Prepare!

* Note that in the 4-week clinic, we actually have 16 hours of intensive "face-me-i-face-you" interaction - let us make each hour count! Be prompt, proactive and diligent.

* Kindly avoid out-of-class/group communication with the Coach, except it is strictly relevant and contingent on fulfilling a particular assignment.

* Confidentiality is the oil that drives our communication business. Start here: keep the identity, thoughts, revelations and positions of your class-mates within the group/class.

* In doubt (or unsure)...ask questions. Still hazy? Give the other party the benefit of the doubt. Don't presume or speculate.

* Manage your exuberance: we are here to share mutually beneficial knowledge, not to be entertained or indoctrinated.
ADC-5 Captain,
Mrs. Bakare

- Admins (Captains) may reiterate the Rules of Engagement and The Advisory at the beginning of each weekend. It may be useful to have parallel out-of-class WhatsApp group for further bonding and tutorials, at the discretion of the Captain(s).

- You are expected to indicate your presence on the Skills Clinic Register every Saturday, by your signature.

* In communication, hold these dear to your heart: Be bold. Be clear. Be careful. Be curious. Be reliable. Be disciplined. Be civil. Be passionate. Be smart.

NOTE: All information shared here (on the online platforms) strictly for the benefit of the Clinic's registrants - do not share with "outsiders".


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