The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI), an annual ranking compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), has declared Nigeria the 112th most journalist-friendly country in the world.

The latest ranking was released in the first week of May, after an assessment of 180 countries’ 2023 press freedom records.

The other two factors considered during the ranking were the degree of freedom journalists, news organisations and internet users enjoyed in each country and the efforts made by the authorities or governments of the countries to respect such rights.

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Norway, with a score of 91.89 percent, ranks first on the list, while Denmark and Sweden, with scores of 89.6 percent and 88.32 percent, respectively, rank second and third.

The Netherlands, Finland and Estonia are fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, on the list, while Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland and Germany come seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth.

The United Kingdom and the United States of America rank 23rd and 55th on the list, respectively.

Nigeria ranks 112th, between Indonesia and Togo, two countries lying in the 111th and 113th positions, respectively.

In descending order, Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea were ranked the five least journalist-friendly countries in the world.

Interestingly, the latest ranking was published in the same week Daniel Ojukwu, an FIJ reporter, was abducted by men of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector General of Police.

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On the order of the Nigerian police’s highest authorities, the police officers abducted Ojukwu on the streets of Lagos on May 1, denying him access to his family, employers and lawyers for days.

Ojukwu spent 10 days in police detention before he was eventually released on May 10.

FIJ would later gather that Ojukwu was abducted and detained for a purported violation of the 2015 Cybercrime Act in his investigative report on how Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs) to former President Muhammadu Buhari, allocated N147.1 million to an account linked to Enseno Global Ventures (Enseno GV), an Abuja-based restaurant, supposedly for the construction of a classroom.