Abstract

When General Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s 15^th head of state returned to power as a democratically elected president in 2015, many wondered whether he would clutch the press with the iron fists that he used to suppress it during his military dictatorship (December 31, 1983, to August 27, 1985. This is the major question addressed in the study. If he was unable to do so, what factors pragmatically explain his inability to do so. The paper detailed the provisions of the institutional measures that Buhari utilized to minimize expression in the press when he was a military dictator. The chilling, even freezing effect of the measures on the press are highlighted. This study is important because it explains why erstwhile military dictators like Buhari may find it difficult to suppress the press if, and when they return to office under a civil democratic formation. The study utilized the traditional historical and legal research methods. The method of historiography drew upon government documents that were synthesized in a narrative expository history. The major finding is that Buhari was unable to suppress the press under civil democratic climate as much as he did during his military autocratic rule. Constitutional changes and legislative reforms that had occurred by 2015, and the activities of Civil Society Organizations such as the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Media Rights Agenda (MRA) incapacitated his ability to suppress the press when he became a democrat. The implication, and relevance of the study is that it tends to strongly suggest that the worst form of civil democracy is still better than the best form of military autocracy.

Key Words: Nigerian press freedom, government-press relations, press censorship, military autocracy, civil democracy.

About the Author

* Chris Wolumati Ogbondah, Ph. D., is an Emeritus Professor and Distinguished Scholar, Department of Communication and Media, University of Northern Iowa, USA. He is a four-time recipient of the American Press Institute Fellowship and a recipient of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa Award for Faculty Excellence and four Apple Polisher Awards, reserved for best teachers of the University of Northern Iowa. He has served on the Global Survey Team of press freedom experts for the New York-based Freedom House that rank the countries of the world on a scale of press freedom. He has taught at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and at three different Nigerian universities.

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 17, No. 2, October 2025, pp. 1-16

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

Article Citation

Ogbondah, C. W. (2025). Nigerian press under Muhammadu Buhari’s military autocracy and civil democracy in Nigeria: A comparative historical analysis. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 17 (2): 1-16.

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