National Service Authority (NSA) has gone to court for the second time, seeking to secure another injunction to prevent The Fourth Estate from publishing a series of investigative stories scheduled for release this month.

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The officials of the Authority say should the court allow the Media Foundation for West Africa’s accountability journalism project, The Fourth Estate, to publish an investigation it conducted into its activities without hearing its side of the story, it would suffer “irreparable harm.

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”“That the reputations of the applicant [NSA] and its management will be soiled if the respondents [MFWA and others] are allowed to proceed with their threatened publication, and if it later turns out to be a false story, the injury and reputational damage occasioned cannot be reversed,” the NSA prayed the court.

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The Fourth Estate has made several attempts to engage with officials from the National Security Authority (NSA) by sending official letters, meeting in person, and making phone calls to offer them a chance to respond to the investigative findings.

these efforts, NSA officials have delayed and instead turned to legal action to stop the publications.On December 2, 2024, just 12 hours before the

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first report was set to be published, a court bailiff served an injunction to the Media Foundation for West Africa, the organization behind The Fourth Estate. The injunction was filed by the NSA, blocking the publication of the investigative reports.The 10-day injunction ended on December 12, 2024, but the NSA has gone back to court, seeking further legal action.

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This time, they are asking the court to stop The Fourth Estate from publishing the reports on social media, newspapers, or any other platforms until the NSA is included in the process.The NSA officials also want the court to order The Fourth Estate to retract its yet-to-be-published report on all social media platforms or newspapers.They also want The Fourth Estate to bear the cost of the litigation.

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