Origins and Interpretation of Nigerian Press Laws

The paper traces colonial legacies in Nigeria's press laws. Specifically, it traces the early antecedents of the Public Officers (Protection Against False Accusation) Decree No. 4 of 1984 and finds that it was modelled after earlier libel and sedition laws and the Newspaper Amendment Act, all of which criminalize free speech and opinion directed against those in authority. The study finds similarities in the motivations behind the promulgation of Decree No. 4 and those behind the earlier libel and sedition laws, i.e. fear of those in authority of criticism. Although Nigerian courts were reluctant to uphold individuals' rights of free speech and opinion shortly after independence, the study finds that later court decisions have found sections of the criminal code and sedition laws which criminalize free speech to be anachronistic and unconstitutional.