“I observed that all the media outlets were focused on the protests the other day. The media should not do this. This is not an election,” said Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff General Christopher Musa during the #EndBadGovernance protest in August 2024.

In a democracy, protests remain a crucial tool citizens use to express concerns about how they are governed and make their demands known. However, because most protests are limited to specific places and witnessed by only a few people, protesters rely on media coverage to achieve their goals through media amplification.

In other words, media coverage is essential to the viability of a protest. This is why those involved in a protest, whether for or against, usually seek to control how the media covers or frames it.

Whereas the government wants to protect the status quo by limiting the reach of the protests, the organisers want to control how they are framed, understanding that their desired outcomes can only be achieved through positive and prominent coverage.

When the media amplifies the coverage of protests, highlighting the voices of the protesters, the government accuses it of instigating insurrection. Ironically, the media, again, risks being accused of what is termed the “protest paradigm” when it reports in detail the disruptions and violence that usually trail legitimate protests.

For instance, the #EndSARS protest in Nigeria in 2020 was a legitimate demonstration against police brutality, harassment, and extortion. However, the Nigerian media’s ample coverage of the legitimate protest led to sanctions from the government through the media regulators.

In some cases, the government even uses security forces to harass journalists in a bid to suppress the coverage of the protests. To cite an example, Abisola Alawode, a Legit.ng ex-reporter, was beaten and dragged into a police van while covering the first anniversary of the #EndSARS protest at Lekki Tollgate in October 2021. Alawode was live-streaming the event when police officers seized his equipment.

This incident is not an isolated one. In August 2024, at least 50 journalists were reportedly arrested while covering protests in Abuja. The harassment and assault of journalists pose a risk to their safety and also hinder the media’s ability to provide accurate coverage of demonstrations.

Meanwhile, after days of outrage and anger nationwide, the #EndSARS protest turned violent, leading to the unprecedented destruction of public and private properties in Lagos and other parts of the country.

In covering the disruptions, a research study accused the Nigerian media of “riot framing.” The study, published by the Journal of International Communication (2024), said Nigerian newspapers adhered to the protest paradigm in their coverage of the EndSARS protest.

“The riot frame was the most used frame in reporting the EndSARS protest, while the protest target’s voice was heard more in the reports,” noted the study, which examined 216 articles from three newspapers.

This implies the Nigerian media focused more on the disruptions and violence than the protest’s goals. It also suggests the Nigerian media gave more voice to the power holders than the protesters.

How to accurately cover protests

With the above context, one can deduce that the media’s main task is ensuring balanced and accurate reporting of protests devoid of bias and the protest paradigm.

With more than a decade of operation in Nigeria, over 10 million unique readers monthly via our Web site, and a social media presence of 11.4 million followers, Legit.ng plays a frontline role in covering major protests in Nigeria, from Occupy Nigeria to #EndBadGovernance, and other minor ones.

Our experience, influence, and commitment to ethical journalism have shaped how we cover protests in Nigeria. Below are internal guidelines we employ to cover protests accurately at Legit.ng.

Balanced narratives: adding the third voice

At Legit.ng, we understand that one protest usually has multiple angles, and we strive to cover them all. We avoid what is called “elite framing” in our protest coverage. That is, we don’t report from the government’s perspective (the power holders; i.e. politicians, police, etc.) alone. We also talk to the protesters and platform their voices before, during, and after the protests.

Meanwhile, our idea of balanced reporting goes beyond reporting what the government and the protest organisers say. It includes adding the third voice, which means reporting the statements and perspectives of the independent observers. This provides comprehensive coverage devoid of bias.

Providing context to avoid protest paradigm

Protests in Nigeria often leave traces of disruptions and violence. Reporting these disruptions presents a dilemma — you’re either accused of inciting more violence by the government or of riot framing by the activists or protest organisers.

At Legit.ng, we address this dilemma by providing adequate contexts. We don’t cover protests as a contest between the protesters and police, and we don’t structure our stories only around protesters engaging in destructive actions and the police responding. Instead, we provide contexts.

While we don’t shy away from our responsibility of reporting the disruptions, we ensure we report the stories that led to the protest and the eventual disruptions. That is, we frontline the legitimate demands of the protesters and go the extra mile to report how the disruptions happened and the actors involved, who usually are not the legitimate protesters.

We achieve this through pre-protest reporting and live coverage of the protest, providing a chain of the demonstrations as they unfold rather than reporting stories as isolated incidents. As Poynter put it: “The WHY is this happening is just as important as the WHAT is happening.”

Spotting the third actor

Spotting the third actor is another way we avoid bias and riot framing. Editorial experience shows there are usually three major actors during protests in Nigeria: the legitimate protesters, the government, and those with totally different motives who hide behind the demonstrations to push their agenda. Sometimes, these third actors are non-state actors. Other times, they are opposition politicians.

So, in our protest coverage, we strive to spot the third actors and report on them as they are without muddling them up with the actual protesters, especially as they usually spread misinformation and incite violence during protests.

Accuracy and transparency

Misinformation and disinformation thrive during protests. At Legit.ng, we subject every statement about the protests, whether for or against, to in-house verification before publishing. One of the major sources of misinformation during protests is user-generated content. So, we review and verify all user-generated content sent to us before utilising it.

Expert input

When various angles emerge during a protest, we seek insights from our experts to ensure we provide our readers with invaluable reports. For example, during the #EndBadGovernance protest, some demonstrators waved Russian flags, particularly in Northern Nigeria. Legit.ng enlisted the help of our security experts to provide context on the implications of this action.

Also, the Nigerian government’s arraignment of minors for alleged involvement in violence and looting sparked opposition arguments, intensified by reports of some minors collapsing in court. Civil society groups condemned the arraignment as illegal, while the government maintained its actions were lawful. Police alleged the minors’ collapse was staged. To efficiently report these complex developments, we enlisted legal experts whose insights enhanced our reporting.

A balancing act

Media coverage of protests in Nigeria is a delicate balancing act. Media platforms and journalists must navigate the complexities of reporting on demonstrations while avoiding bias and the protest paradigm.

To achieve accurate and balanced coverage, media outlets should employ strategies such as providing context, adding the third voice of independent observers, and verifying information to prevent the spread of misinformation. By doing so, we can ensure our coverage of protests is comprehensive, unbiased, and informative, contributing to a more informed and engaged citizenry.

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