World Press Freedom Day 2017: African editors wants media freedom restriction laws abolished

ITRealms:

The African Editors Forum (TAEF) has reiterated calls to heads of states and governments to, as a matter of urgency, to abolish all laws that restrict media freedom, reports ITRealms.

Chairperson, African Editors Forum, Jovial Rantao, in a press statement made available to ITRealms, also called on African states to recognize the indivisibility of press freedom and their responsibility to respect their commitments to African and international protocols upholding the freedom, independence and safety of the press.

“On this day, our thoughts go out to the many journalists and editors who are languishing in jails across the continent, simply for doing their work. One of these is Ahmed Abba, a journalist in Cameroon who was tried in a military court and handed a 10 year sentence with a hefty fine. Seven other journalists in Cameroon are on trial,” Rantao said.

She also said, TAEF is seriously concerned about the deteriorating state of media freedom and strongly deplores the intimidation, by the government of Zambia, of journalists and editors. Three journalists have appeared in court, charged with spurious crimes - all in an effort to intimidate them and dissuade them from telling the truth fairly and honestly.

TAEF, according to Rantao, remains worried about media freedom violations which are taking a growing toll on African journalists.

“We are concerned about the deterioration of media freedom in  South Sudan, Republic of Congo, Uganda, Djibouti, Burundi Nigeria, Mali and Eritrea,” she said.

Further, TAEF urged African governments to recommit themselves to the Windhoek Declaration and the Declaration of Table Mountain.

“Both declarations condemned, in the strongest terms, all forms of repression of African media that allows for banning of newspapers and the use of other devices such as levying import duties on newsprint and printing material as well as withholding government advertising,” she lamented.

TAEF emphasized that African governments should release jailed journalists for their professional activities immediately and allow journalists who have been forced into exile to return to their countries.

African states must promote the highest standards of press freedom in furtherance of the principles proclaimed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other protocols and to provide constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press.

Uj. Dominic/GEE

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63 workers win trade restriction case against MTN

ITRealms:

The Lagos Division of the National Industrial Court has ordered MTN Nigeria Communications to pay full four years post-disengagement salaries to 63 workers, who were laid off by the company in 2009, reports ITRealms.

According to reports by TheNigeriaLawyer, the court presided over by Justice P.O. Lifu also awarded additional N10,000 against MTN in favour of each of the 63 workers to cover the cost of filing the suit numbered NICN/LA/596/2013.

Justice Lifu said MTN must pay the judgment credit sum within 30 days from October 26, 2016 when the judgment was delivered, failing which the judgment credit would attract an annual interest of 10 per cent.

The claimants in the suit are Harrison Ossai, Gabriel Ameh and Stephen Mahaja, who sued on behalf of themselves and 60 other workers laid off by MTN with the condition that they must never work with any other telecommunication company for four years after their disengagement.

The claimants had, in their suit, claimed to have been subjected to financial hardship on account of the restraint of trade imposed them by MTN.

Ossai, in his testimony before the court, said the trade restraint imposed by MTN bungled his chances of being employed by Globacom and Airtel, which were other telecommunication companies, adding that after being sacked by MTN, he was jobless for six years.

Like other claimants, he urged the court to order MTN to pay him N10m and another N20m for filing the suit.

In his judgment, Justice Lifu said he was “satisfied that the claimants had proved their claims before the court as to the oppressive and unreasonableness of the restraint of trade covenant for four years for making and leaving the claimants hard and dry for four years.”

The judge held, “Terminating the employment of the claimants and at the same time restricting them from seeking any employment from the sector generally and preventing them to be acting as agents or adviser or to engage in any other concern directly or indirectly for four years is clearly unreasonable in the light of global economic challenges occasioned by recession, which has resulted in mass unemployment.”

The judge ruled that each of the workers was entitled to be paid his last gross salary for four years after being sacked and ordered MTN to pay with an additional N10,000 each as cost.

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