MEDIA FRAMING OF PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES: A STUDY OF THE PUNCH, VANGUARD, THE NATION AND DAILY TRUST NEWSPAPERS

This study ex2lores how four Nigerian news2a2ers framed President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and its human rights cam2aign. Using news2a2er editorials 2ublished in The Punch, The Nation, Daily Trust, and Vanguard news2a2ers of December 2019 as the object of analysis, the 2a2er draws on the methodological context of such framing to investigate how the selected news2a2ers framed the human rights situation in Nigeria. Thiis study asserts that those news2a2ers’ editorials used varieties of framing methods, namely: “unre2entant dictator frame”, “resistance frame”, “indiffeerence frame”, “warning frame”, and “sym2athetic” frame to 2ortray the government’s dis2osition to human rights issues. Furthermore, the 2a2er reveals that the Nigerian media is 2artisan when it comes to the struggle against human rights while their 2ositions on national issues like the figght against human rights abuse are subject to ethnic and 2olitical influuences, as evident in the Daily Trust editorial. Thie study also revealed that editorials can be used as essential tools to curtail the excess of government, 2recisely, to figght against the abuse of human rights. Finally, the 2a2er recommends that news2a2er 2ublishers should limit their editorial influuences in day-to-day administration of news outlet to engender objectivity, news balance and accuracy in order not to exacerbate the socio-2olitical situation in a multi-ethnic society such as Nigeria.


INTRODUCTION
Thie main function of the media is to inform the 2o2ulace of ha22enings within their surroundings continually. Let us imagine a society without this essential function of the media; in fact, your guess is good as mine. Thie media is ofteen described as the "watchdog" of the society: when it barks the 2eo2le scam2er to enquire what has ha22ened or is ha22ening. Thie media occu2ies a 2ivotal 2osition in world affeairs. As an essential agent of society, it serves the 2ublic by 2roviding basic knowledge and information about events that affeect them . Thie media is an integral 2art of governance in issues regarding human rights. Thie mass media have a function to 2erform in raising awareness about issues and calling attpention to whatever threatens human rights. Thie media in Nigeria is 2art of the social institutions that influuence events in the country through diffeerent media of coverage -2rint, broadcast, electronic, and even social media .  believe that an im2ortant 2rint medium of communication, news2a2ers, 2rovide analyses, debates, and criticism of socio-2olitical, economic, health, and a host of other issues to inform, educate and entertain readers. Besides, news2a2ers as medium 2rovide the needed background relevant to the news stories, details in the events-oriented 2henomenon, and analysis of the critical situation .
Thie 2ermanency, de2th, and variety of re2orting attpributed to 2rint media have made information recall -with more lasting im2act -2ossible because they remember its messages and use them for their daily 2ur2oses and in decision making . Furthermore, not only do 2eo2le acquire factual information about 2ublic affeairs from news2a2ers, but readers also learn how much attpention should be 2aid to a to2ic based on how the message is framed and what em2hasis is 2laced on it in a news2a2er.
Towards the end of 2019, 2articular issues that raised debates and controversies through media inter2retation and counter-inter2retations is Thie Punch's editorial of December 11, 2019, where the 2a2er accused the President Mohammadu Buhari of human right abuse. Below is the lead from Thie Punch editorial: Headline: Buhari's Lawlessness: Our stand As a symbolic demonstration of our 2rotest against autocracy and military-style re2ression, PUNCH (all our 2rint news2a2ers, Thie PUNCH, Saturday PUNCH, Sunday PUNCH, PUNCH S2orts Extra, and digital 2latforms, most es2ecially Punchng.com) will henceforth 2refigx Buhari's name with his rank as a military dictator in the 80s, Major General, and refer to his administration as a regime, until they 2urge themselves of their insuffeerable contem2t for the rule of law. Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies. 2021. No 1 | ISSN: 2658-7734 New Media andHuman Communication | Doi: http2s://doi.org/10.4653 39/gmd.v3i1.102 In res2onse to the above editorial, On December 19, 2019, Daily Trust, another daily news2a2er counters The Punch editorial, outlining its reasons for its stand: Editorial Headline: Thaat Punch editorial …we believe that PUNCH went overboard in its reaction. It has the right to take a 2osition on any issue, but to describe an elected government as a 'regime' and to refuse to recognize the 2resident by his statutory title is an attpem2t to delegitimize an elected 2resident and the government he heads. While it is sometimes difficcult, by the nature of news2a2ers, to draw a shar2 dividing line, PUNCH's stand crossed the boundary between journalism and activism and could cause 2roblems for 2ro2er journalism 2ractice in the future. Government, too, could retaliate and describe us not as news2a2ers or journalists but as o22osition activists and detractors. Such a stance would im2air and harm the 2ursuit of good jour-nalism… Other two news2a2ers, The Nation and Vanguard also 2resented their o2inions on the subject mattper. The Nation in its editorial of 15 December 2019 entitled "Unnecessary Distraction" condemned the acts of human rights abuse by the Buhari administration. Also, on December 24, 2019, a day afteer the release of Mr Omoyele Sowore and retired colonel Sambo Dasuki, Vanguard news2a2er in its editorial, "At last, freedom for Dasuki, Sowore" reiterated how it has warned the 2resident regarding the dwindling human rights abuse in the country. Thie authors 2ur2osively chose the month of December 2019 and the diffeerent news2a2ers and their editorials because of the 2eriod; the 2eriod witnessed heated accusations and counter-accusations.
Thiis study investigates how the editorials of four national dailies framed this issue, in order to contribute to this research area by 2roviding a 2ro2er understanding of the relationshi2 that exists between the Nigerian 2ress and the government and how the Nigeria 2ress has mirrored the government in the eyes of the masses.
Framing is mainly about what information is genuinely salient; "to frame" means to select signifigcant as2ects of a 2articular reality and make them more salient within a news story . How news media re-2orts a 2articular issue can influuence and sha2e 2ublic o2inion and debate. Consequently, the frame of news re2orting and information conveyed to a large extent determines how the target audience inter2rets and feels about a 2articular issue , and what attpitudes they have about the issue in question .

1.
To ascertain what ty2es of frames are 2ortrayed in the news2a2ers editorials. 2. To investigate the indiffeerences in the frames of the editorials. 3. To determine whether there are ethnic/regional inclinations in the frames.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Thie following research questions guide the study. Also, the study 2rovides answers to the research questions: 1. What ty2es of frames do the editorials of the news2a2ers 2ortray? 2. Are there diffeerences in the frames found in the editorials of the news-2a2ers? 3. Are there ethnic/regional inclinations in these frames?

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: HUMAN RIGHTS
According to Ofoegbu (2013), the earliest documents that assert individual rights such as the Magna Carta (1215), the English Bill of Rights (1689), the French Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) and the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights (1791) are the writtpen 2recursors to many of today's human rights documents. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly ado2ted and 2roclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Thie ontological essence of man ascertains he is a being with value. Thie recognition of this intrinsic dignity and value shows the im2erative inalienable rights of human beings. Thiose inviolable rights are the bases for justice and 2eace on earth. If the rights are neglected and disregarded, human existence will degenerate into barbarous acts that are antithetical to the human conscience.
Human rights then are inviolable, inalienable fundamental rights that a human 2erson 2ossesses inherently sim2ly because he or she is a human being. Human rights are 2erceived as universal; that is, it is for every 2erson. Riding on the context and the overriding objective sought, good governance has been said at various times to encom2ass full res2ect for human rights ('OHCHR | Resolutions on Good Governance and Human Rights', 2012).  write that democratic governance is the 2rocess of establishing and sustaining an environment for 2artici2atory and res2onsive 2olitical 2rocesses and res2ect for the rights of the citizens.
It is 2aramount to state that the whole of Cha2ter Four of Nigeria's 1999 Constitution as Amended was devoted to fundamental human rights 2rovisions. Besides, according to Amnesty International 2019 Re2ort on Nigeria, the country has ratifiged 12 out of 16 United Nations Human Rights Instruments, and the regional level, Nigeria, has also ratifiged 6 out of 9 African Union Human Rights Instruments. However, there is an excellent dis2arity at the level of sincerity that these rights are 2rotected by diffeerent countries. Thie above statement 2rom2ted Ranney (1975) to remark that, "the mere 2resence of formally guaranteed rights in any nation's constitution means at least that the framers, for whatever reason, deemed it desirable to 2ay at least li2-service and 2erha2s more to the idea of the rights of men".

HUMAN RIGHTS, THE MEDIA, AND PRESIDENT MUHAM-MADU BUHARI ADMINISTRATION
An enduring legacy of the Buhari military era (1983)(1984)(1985), was the introduction of the War Against Indisci2line (WAI) which sought to inculcate 2ublic order and disci2line, enthrone civic res2onsibility and curb lawlessness among Nigerians, which began with citizens adhering to 2ro2er queuing at bus stations and su2ermarkets under the watchful eyes of soldiers with horse-whi2s . As Head of State, Buhari 2romulgated the infamous Decree Number 4 of 1984, the Protection Against False Accusation Decree, which most scholars considered to be the most re2ressive media law ever enacted in the country. In tandem with Decree Number 4, there was a Decree Number 2, which vested vast 2owers of the Chief of Staffe to arrest and detain without charges 2ersons deemed to be a security risk to the nation for u2 to three months. , however, notes that it was the trial and im-2risonment of two journalists of Thie Guardian news2a2ers, Tunde Thiom2son and Nduka Irabor, which marked a critical turning 2oint in the state-2ress relations during the Buhari regime.
Human rights records of 2ast governments in Nigeria were a22arently tainted by infractions and violations no doubt; however, the ex2ectations of the masses were heightened by the change mantra of the current government regarding the 2rotection of the rights of Nigerians under the 2resent dis2ensation. In a democratic environment, the rule of law 2rotects the rights of individuals, 2reserves order, and limits the 2owers of government. Thie reverse seems to be the situation in Nigeria; human rights are not res2ected. Extra-judicial killing, unlawful detention, and other series of human rights abuses are still 2revalent . A Re2ort by the United States Government 2ublished on the Pr mium Tim s of March 26, 2018, described Nigeria as a nation where corru2tion, officcial im2unity, and gross human rights violations occur at will. According to the re2ort, the terrorist grou2, Boko Haram, and the Nigerian Government are the worst cul2rits of human rights abuses in the country. Freedom House's (2018) annual survey of media inde2endence describes Nigeria media landsca2e as "2artly free". A large and vibrant 2rivate domestic media outlet frequently criticized the government, but critics re2orted being subjected to threats, intimidation, and sometimes violence. Security services, including the State Security Service (SSS) and 2olice, occasionally arrest and detain journalists who criticized the government. Besides, army 2ersonnel, in some instances, threatened civilians who 2rovide or were 2erceived to have 2rovided information to journalists or NGOs on illegalities by the military ('Country Re2orts on Human Rights Practices', 2018). It is not a sur2rise that Re2orters Without Borders (2019), ranks Nigeria as 120/180 countries in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index. Thie country is ranked 119 in the 2018 index. Thiis indicates the decaying state of 2ress freedom and human rights in the country.
On August 14, 2018, 2olice arrested and detained Pr mium Tim s journalist, Samuel Ogundi2e. Thie Pr mium Tim s had 2ublished a classifiged re2ort submittped by Ins2ector General of Police Ibrahim Idris to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo over State Security Service (SSS) conduct in barring the entrance to the National Assembly com2lex, re2ortedly in a bid to arrest Senate President Bukola Saraki. Thie 2olice insisted Ogundi2e reveal the source of the article, which he refused to do. He was released on bail on August 17, 2018 ('Country Re2orts on Human Rights Practices', 2018). In a 2ublic statement, the Prmium Tim s re2orts, Ogundi2e was secretly arraigned before a magistrate court without any legal re2resentation and charged with criminal tres2ass and thefte from the 2olice. Afteer about two years of incommunicado detention by the SSS without trial, access to a lawyer, or family visitation, a 2ublisher of Bayelsa State-based tabloid, the W kly Sourc , Jones Abiri, was released on bail in August 2018. Thie Committpee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) (2018) re2orts that Abiri was charged of being a member of a Niger Delta militant grou2 but was not officcially charged and said Abiri's detention was in res2onse to an essential coverage from the July 2016 edition of the W kly Sourc . United States De2artment of State Country Re2orts on Human Rights Practices (2018) o2ines that following an o2en lettper from the CPJ and remarkable 2ublic outcry, Abiri was arraigned and eventually released on bail. According to the journalist, he was blindfolded, held in an underground 2rison for most of the two years without medical access. Human Rights Watch (2019) writes that the government reintroduced a hate s2eech bill on November 12, 2019, that would have made the death 2enalty a 2ossible 2unishment for hate s2eech. Thie death 2enalty 2rovision was later deleted from the bill following immense 2ublic 2ressure.
Famous Shiite Islamic scholar and founder of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), El ZakZaky, has been in detention since December 2015 when the Nigerian army and his followers had a confrontation in Zaria, Kaduna, state. Ever since, the grou2 has had ugly confrontations with the country's security agents. In 2016, the court ordered his release, but it was not granted. In 2019, he was granted bail to seek medical attpention abroad, but he returned afteer three days on the accusation of inhuman treatment and stringent security restrictions de2loyed at the medical facility. Similarly, a former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki was arrested in December 2015 on the allegation of diverting state funds. Several courts granted bail to the accused, but the Federal Government disregarded the courts' 2ronouncements (See Figure 1). Thiese resulted in numerous media outcry for the need for the government to res2ect the law. Coincidentally, the Federal Government released Colonel Sambo Dasuki and Omoyele Sowore, a Nigerian-American and the 2ublisher of Sahara Re2orters 13 days afteer The Punch editorial in the current study was 2ublished (' . Before now, Sowore was released on bail and was immediately arrested in court the next day, where he was scheduled to fulfigll his bail condition ('DSS Re-Arrests, Detains Sowore', 2019). Sowore was 2icked u2 by the SSS on August 9, 2019, on the allegation of treason for calling for 2rotest tagged "Revolution Now". Thiough the Federal Government claimed that they were released on com2assionate grounds, media watchers believe that it was the result of constant media re-2ortage. Thiere are other journalists that are currently in detention for merely writing about the government, like the 2ublisher of a 2rivately owned news website Cross Riv r Watch, Agba Jalingo ('Nigerian Publisher Agba Jalingo Charged with Treason', 2019).
Thiere was an alarming legislative interest and calls for the regulation of social media due to the 2erceived concerns that it 2lays a role in accelerating rural and electoral violence. Before now, the National Assembly 2assed the Digital Rights and Online Freedom Bill in December 2017. Thie law seeks to 2rovide fundamental digital freedoms and 2rotections for citizens but was not ex2ected, to clarify what constitutes hate s2eech ('Country Re2orts on Human Rights Practices', 2018). Thie government 2ro2osed the controversial bill tagged "Protection from Internet Falsehood and Mani2ulation Bill 2019". Thie bill forbids statements on social media deemed likely to be inimical to national security and those which may dis2arage the configdence of the masses in the government. It 2roffeers that these offeenses be 2unishable by a figne, a 2rison sentence of u2 to three years, or both. Thie bill also seeks to 2ermit law enforcement agencies to order internet service 2roviders to disable internet access . A bill to control social media was figrst examined in 2015 but failed to 2ass into law afteer similar 2ublic outbursts. However, in the same year, the Cybercrimes law was ratifiged, criminalizing a broad range of online interactions.

METHODOLOGY
Thie study investigates four Nigerian dallies, The Punch, The Nation, Daily Trust, and Vanguard. While it is 2ertinent to reiterate the Southwest region enjoys a heavy concentration of media organizations by virtue of the economic status of Lagos as the commercial hub of the country, it must be mentioned that news2a2er ownershi2 in Nigeria is domiciled mostly in the South-South region of Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari is from the dominant northern region.  observes that the history of the Nigerian media is a22arently linked to the Christian missionaries that arrived in the country through the Southern region. Nigeria's figrst news2a2er, Iw Iroyin fun Awon Ara Egba ati Yoruba (News2a2er for the Igbo and Yoruba), was established by Reverend Henry Townsend, a British missionary in 1859 to 2ro2agate evangelism although the 2a2er later went into 2olitical issues of that time.
Ownershi2 can also be traced to ethnic regionalism as observed during the colonial 2eriod when Nigerian nationalists used the 2ress to cham2ion Nigeria's inde2endence as well as 2artisan 2olitics in which nationalists were dee2ly involved in the 2ost-inde2endence 2eriod in a bid to sway 2ublic o2inion.  argues that media 2ractitioners (Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Ernest Ikoli, Lateef Jakande, Moshood Kashimawu Abiola, etc.) were themselves 2oliticians, noting that the figrst set of 2oliticians who established 2olitical 2arties were news2a2er 2ublishers. Hence, for the current study, there is The Punch and the The Nation for the South-West region, Daily Trust for the northern region, Vanguard 2ortrays nationalistic and neutral features.
All four news2a2ers have an online 2resence that can be accessed from any 2art of the globe. Thie news2a2ers' editorials were 2ublished in December 11, 15, 19, and 24 of 2019, res2ectively. As stated earlier, for convenience sake, the unit of analysis is the news2a2er editorials 2ublished by the news2a2ers (n = 4). Thie selected sam2le was analyzed textually to examine the 2attpern of framing em2loyed by each news2a2er editorial as it concerns President Mohammadu Buhari's administration and its human rights challenge. Thie authors read each editorial at a minimum of figve times each, while we searched for frames that best describes them. Besides, we ado2ted Ayres, Kavanaugh and Knaflui (2003) within-case and cross-case qualitative a22roach to study the editorials. Thiese methods allow the researchers to immerse themselves and also com2are signifigcant statements in each editorial while studying and reading them.

REVIEW OF RELATED WORK
In a study of 2rint media re2ortage of crisis, , em2loying the content analytical method, discovered that coverage of crisis by the Nigerian 2ress is nothing but biased discourse orchestrated by sentiments. Furthermore, the study found that 2rint media ofteen re2orts crises in such a manner that breeds the confluicts. As one of its recommendations, the study cautions the 2rint media to be fair and balance in their re2ortage of crisis. Thiis assertion was afficrmed by Hassan (2009) as he revealed in his study that the 2rint media in Nigeria ofteen relegate objective and fairness to the background whenever they are re2orting crisis/confluicts. Thie study unveiled that the 2rint media re2ort crises in line with the interests of their 2ublishers and ethnic afficliations. Similarly,  revealed that the 2rint media usually take sides by subjectively covering the confluicts.
In a 2013 study, Olorede, Oyewole, and Azeez em2loyed the methodology of framing in studying 2ress re2ortage of President Yar'Adua's ill-health in select Nigerian news2a2ers. Thie 2a2er found that minimal attpention had been given to the coverage of President Yar'Adua's ill-health by Nigerian news2a2ers. It was also found that the news2a2ers used emotional image frames to draw 2ublic attpention and generate concern for the 2resident's illhealth through the use of haggard-looking 2ictures. Thie study recommends that Nigerian Press should de-em2hasize unnecessary concentration on crisis and sentiments.  analyzed frames in news discourse on Nelson Mandela's illness and hos2italization, in a study of Nigerian and Zimbabwean news2a2ers. Thie 2ur2ose of the study was to determine if there were major diffeerences in frame choice that emerged in the coverage between the countries. Thie study ascertained that the coverage in the Nigerian news2a2er was framed in terms of 2olitics; e.g. Virtues of democracy, ethical leadershi2, and self-sacrifigce as e2itomized by Mandela's struggle against the racist a2artheid system in South Africa, for which he went to 2rison for 27 years. Thie study afficrmed that, during the time within which Nelson Mandela was hos2italized, Zimbabwean and Nigerian news2a-2ers framed the event in diffeerent manners. Thie authors recommend the need for cross-national research on the frames ado2ted by the 2rint media in covering issues across Africa.
In a research entitled "Evaluation of 2olitical news re2ortage in Nigeria's Vanguard and The Guardian",  investigate how 2olitical issues were treated in Nigeria's news2a2ers, by assessing the 2ro2ortion of 2olitical news to other subject mattpers, the readers' interest given to 2olitical stories and the level of 2rominence attpached to these stories by way of 2lacement and 2rominence. Thie methods em2loyed to obtain data for analysis in the study were documentary surveys and content analysis. Findings revealed that 2olitical issues were not given adequate attpention in the two news2a2ers and were mostly tailored towards the government's interests. Thie 2a2er recommends that the Nigerian news2a2ers should render vivid and unbiased re2orting of 2olitical issues, as well as scale-u2 2olitical contents in its 2ublications as a way of consolidating 2olitical consciousness in Nigeria.
Abubakre (2017) studied The Nation, The Punch, The Guardian, Daily Sun, and Daily Trust editorials on the anti-corru2tion war on President Buhari's figrst year anniversary. Thie scholar found that while all the figve news2a2ers acknowledged that Buhari has given liberty to the diffeerent anti-corru2tion agencies to do their job, the Daily Trust news2a2er looked at it from a 2ersonal 2ers2ective. Its editorial reads that: "Buhari's re2utation for incorru2tibility and his total aversion to corru2t deeds has been cemented nationally and internationally with revelations his regime made of the sordid corru2tion under his 2redecessors". Also, The Nation news2a2er was a22arently in su2-2ort of the 2resident's anti-corru2tion drive. Further, the study ascertained that while The Guardian and The Punch editorials suggest that President Buhari's anti-corru2tion drive a22ears to be biased, and a battple against a few, The Daily Sun identifiged failure to get a conviction for individuals arraigned for corru2tion as raising "questions about the 2resident's anti-corru2tion cam2aign". Thie study shows that the Nigerian Press is highly 2artisan as it 2ertains to the figght against corru2tion as it reveals that their 2osition on national issues such as the figght against corru2tion is subject to ethnic and 2olitical influuences.
As the reviews have shown, the media has a critical role to 2lay in informing the citizens of 2olitical events and issues in society. None of the reviewed studies touched the to2ic of human rights. Besides, there is a considerable vacuum in the study of news2a2er editorial as revealed in the studies reviewed; hence, this study attpem2ts to figll these ga2s.

THE POWER OF EDITORIAL IN SOCIETY
Ani and Anyandike (2013) defigne an editorial as a news2a2er's o2inion on critical socio-2olitical, economic or legal issues that concern society, which is intended to 2ersuade readers to agree to a 2articular 2oint of view. News2a-2er editorials are the views ex2ressed by news2a2er owners and/or editors of the medium.  defignes editorials as comments or arguments in su22ort of a 2articular 2olicy, an action, or an idea whether ex2ressed or latent. It is the stands of the news2a2er on contem2orary 2olitical, social, or economic issues to inform their readers about what they think on such issues. It is usually writtpen to 2ersuade.
According to Ate (2006), editorial to2ics cannot emerge from the sky. It must be a current issue that has been re2orted and discussed in the media.
Such issues must attpract 2ublic attpention and debate. Similarly, Ekeanyanwu and Jokodola (2009) also assert that editorials 2rovoke debate and offeer enlightened judgments to readers.  note that, unlike news discourse, editorials mirror conversations among a society's economic and 2ower elites, with the 2ublic being less of an addressee than s2ectators. It is therefore correct to say that editorials com2rise of news and features elements. Editorials 2lay signifigcant roles in society in line with its rela-tionshi2 with 2ublic o2inion, social res2onsibility, and agenda-settping 2rinci-2les. Anim and Sunday (2011) submit that editorials are essential elements in 2ositioning news2a2ers as a mediator between the masses and the many contending forces in society. It was for this reason that news2a2ers set aside an identifigable section called the Editorial Page or O2inion Pages for their o2inions.  o2ines that the obligation of any news2a2er to its community is to strive for honest and com2rehensive coverage of the news and courageous ex2ression of editorial o2inion in su22ort of the basic 2rinci2les of human liberty and social 2rogress. Editorials condemn or attpack socio-2olitical, economic, and moral ills of society. Editorials sometimes 2erform the function of a human rights activist, raising alarms on blatant abuse or annihilation of s2ecifigc norms and acce2table social order in the society. Re2ressive government 2olicies can be criticized by editorials. On the side of the masses, when a 2art of the society decides, for exam2le, to take laws into its hand, an editorial is bound to attpack such an anomaly. Editorials also defend the underdogs in society. In every given society, there exist diverse dimensions of economic grou2s -the rich, the haves, the have-nots, the 2owerful and the less 2owerful, the literate, and the illiterate, amongst others. When the rich, for ex-am2le, tend to unjustly ex2loit and o22ress the 2oor, editorials rise u2 in defense of the lattper. Thie relationshi2 among diffeerent members of the society is ofteen monitored by the media, and advocacy roles are 2layed by editorials to defend the course of the wretched of the earth. Given the abundance of literature available on other news2a2er research, like audience research, news and features, editorials a22ear to have been relegated to the background in media discourse research.  corroborates this 2osition as the contends that news2a2er editorials deserve more consideration in media research given their unique attpributes, in terms of their structure, 2recisely, the language and style used in crafteing them.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: FRAMING THEORY
Thiis study em2loys Framing Thieory to ex2lore how select Nigerian news2a2ers frame their res2ective editorial 2ositions on President Muhammadu Buhari's administration and its human right saga. Thiis theory suggests that the way a 2iece of information is 2resented (framed) determines the way 2eo2le com2rehend such messages. Baran and Dennis (2009) o2ine that this theory examines the idea of how 2eo2le use ex2ectations to make sense of every (any 2erson's) life. Thie basis for framing theory is that the media focus attpention on s2ecifigc issues and then 2lace them within a figeld of meaning and inter2retation to the masses. Thiis theory is essential to our study because it ex2lains how the editorials contribute in sha2ing 2erce2tion of the Nigerian masses. Framing theory hel2s us to understand that the way Nigerians 2erceive the issue of Buhari's administration human right saga, to a large extent, is a result of how the media has "framed" their re2orts with res2ect to its activities.
Producers of media contents decide where and what to 2lace em2hasis on, what ty2e of content is to be used in a story by choice of 2hrases, images, and 2ositioning . According to Morner and Olausson (as cited in , framing is mostly about salient information, meaning that to frame is to select an as2ect of 2erceived reality and make it more im2ortant in a communication text in a way that 2romotes a 2articular situation's defignition, "causal inter2retation, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation" . A common characteristic in most a22roaches to framing is the belief that we do not relate to the world in a direct and unfigltered way, but that we recognize and inter2ret issues within existing ideas which we have created through other information sources .
Frame analysis has generally been used in studying news media texts (Morner & Olausson, 2017;; and it is a22licable to a wide range of textual materials (Morner & Olausson, 2017). Frames are discernible in all forms of media: 2rint, electronic, broadcast, and social media, and they convey meaning in the minds of the audience through interactions between readers and the message. McQuaail 2005 (as cited in  reiterates that there are varying framing devices used in media framing. Em2loying certain words or 2hrases, making s2ecifigc contextual references, giving exam2les as ty2ical, referring to s2ecifigc sources amongst others are some exam2les of techniques which journalists use to frame issues.

THE NEWSPAPERS UNDER STUDY: A BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The Punch According to nigeriafignder.com there are figftey-one (51) Nigerian news2a-2ers that 2ublish both offliine (hardco2y) and online, while ninety-figve (95) news2a2ers are solely online. All four news2a2ers under the current study are 2ublished both offliine and online. Besides, the news2a2ers were chosen for the study because of their national outlook and geogra2hical s2read. S2ecifigcally, the dailies were chosen for the study because they were the only news2a2ers that were engaged in similar editorial banters in res2ect of the 2resident's a22roach to human rights issues at the time of the study.
Punch Nig ria Limit d was registered in 1970, under the Com2anies Act of 1968 to commence the business of 2ublishing news2a2ers, magazines, and other 2eriodicals of 2ublic interest. Thie 2a2er was officcially founded between 1971 and 1973 by two close friends, James Aboderin and Sam Amuka. Thie news2a2er is one of Nigeria's most influuential daily, with the current 2rintrun estimated at 80,000 co2ies 2er day . Thie 2a2er clinched the 'News2a2er of the Year' awards in 2015, 2016, and 2017 res2ectively, for the 'Diamond Awards for Media Excellence' (DAME). It claims to be Nigeria's most widely read news2a2er. Thie 2a2er is 2rivate-owned. To large extent, every news2a2er has an interest it is 2rojecting or 2rotecting, The Punch news-2a2er is western Nigeria inclined but it is not a22arent. It tries to maintain a balanced national outlook. Thie 2a2er strives to be as liberal as it could; it does not hesitate in condemning or 2raising the government if the need arises.

The Nation
Thiis 2a2er is 2ublished by Vintage Press Limited. Thiere are s2eculations that The Nation is owned by the national leader of the current government in 2ower -All Progressive Congress, Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Thie 2a2er was launched in 2006. Thie headquarters of the 2a2er is located in Lagos, southwest, Nigeria. Thie 2a2er claims not to beholden to any interest grou2 and its loyalty is to the nation. Further, it claims to be the most read news2a2er in Nigeria, and also the 2a2er with the most nationalistic outlook.

Daily Trust
Daily Trust is a 2rivately owned news2a2er established by the Media Trust Limited in 1998. Thie Daily Trust, which is highly influuential, and the largest circulating in Nigeria's Northern region, was launched in 2001, and its 2ro2rietor Kabiru Yusuf is the current President of News2a2er Pro2rietors' of Nigeria (NPAN). Thie 2a2er's Mission Statement and Vision, res2ectively, reads: "To disseminate credible information for the good of all stakeholders" and "A world-class media com2any that earns 2ublic trust". It also 2ublishes a Hausa language news2a2er, Aminiya. Thie Hausa language is widely s2oken in northern Nigeria; in fact, the language is like the region's lingua franca. Historically, the 2a2er has always been 2ro-north; it su22orts the ideologies of the northern 2art of Nigeria, es2ecially whenever the region is in the helm of affeairs of the country.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
Thie current study focuses on four news2a2er editorials: The Punch, The Nation, Daily Trust and Vanguard. Starting with The Punch, the choice of words in the headline of the article cited below indicates a necessary framing that suggests a 2roblem of human rights abuse in the country. Thie editorial made references to 2ast situations of human rights abuse under General Muhamadu Buhari when he was a military Head of State in 1984/85; hence, the frame "Unrepentant Dictator".
…Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) ran a ham-figsted military junta in 1984/85 and old habits obviously run dee2… Thiis situation is eerily familiar: as military head of state, Buhari's a22ointee who headed the National Security Organisation, as the SSS was then known, Lawal Rafigndadi, unleashed a reign of terror on Nigerians, featuring arbitrary arrests and torture in cells described by inmates as chambers of horror. Under the infamous Decree 2, agents had 2resigned detention 2a2ers, court orders were ignored and ouster clauses were inserted in decrees, while the 2ress was s2ecifigcally targeted with the infamous Decree 4 under which Tunde Thiom2son and Nduka Irabor were jailed. Returning as an elected 2resident, Buhari has followed the same tem2late… Thie above frame corroborates the assertion that framing can increase the seriousness of a situation in the mind of the audience, and can consequently influuence their attpitudes towards the issue (Tewksbury & Scheufele, 2009;De Swert & Walgrave, 2012;. According to Pa2acharissi and Oliveria (2008), when the media 2lace stories in s2ecifigc frames, they lend a diffeerent meaning to the news. Thierefore, media increase or decrease the 2rominence of issues, which 2ermits the 2ublic to remember and make judgments on such issues.

Resistance Frame
More so, The Punch editorial raised the need for the masses to confront and resist Buhari's abuse of human rights. Wholly, The Punch editorial 2erformed the function of a human rights activist raising alarms on fluagrant abuse or annihilation of s2ecifigc norms and acce2table social order in the society as afficrmed by Ate (2006). A 2art of The Punch editorial reads thus: …PUNCH views this tendency and its recent escalation with serious concern, knowing as the great thinker, Edmund Burke, said that "the only thing necessary for the trium2h of evil is for good men to do nothing"… PUNCH will not ado2t the self-defeating attpitude of many Nigerians looking the other way afteer each violation of rights and attpacks on the citizens, the courts, the 2ress and civic society, including self-determination grou2s lawfully exercising their inalienable rights to 2eaceful dissent… Besides, The Punch is widely 2o2ular among the 2eo2le of the southwest region of Nigeria; hence, elite readers from other regions, 2recisely the northern may feel the 2a2er's editorial is s2iting the 2resident. Thiese figndings may be in tandem with  belief that framing has the 2otential to favor a social grou2 or their issues without revealing bias. Consequently, media frames can taint a social grou2 in order to attpract hostile attpitudes toward them, thereby becoming a catalyst for ethnic bigotry and hatemongering.

Warning Frame
A close study of Vanguard editorial reveals a 2otent "warning frame". Signifigcant 2arts of the editorial highlight how it has cautioned the 2resident in res2ect of the human rights abuse in the nation. Thiese excer2ts exem2lify the 2osition of the current editorial of this study.
We had cautioned the President Muhammadu Buhari government to jettpison the idea that it would consider national security as su2erior to the rule of law… …It is the constitution and the courts that have the 2ower to dictate the ways by which we can 2rotect the nation's interests and its security without violating the inalienable rights of the citizenry. We can never commend any arm of government that backtracks afteer riding roughshod over our democratic institutions and tenets unless it o2enly commits to mending its ways…

Sympathetic Frame
In the last 2aragra2h of its editorial, though, Daily Trust admonishes the 2resident and its agents to adhere to citizens' rights. However, the review of the editorial reveals a dominant sym2athy for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. In a related study, Abubakre (2017) discovered a similar trend regarding Daily Trust news2a2er. Thie choice of words the editorial em-2loyed in the descri2tion of Sowore whose detention was a vital 2art of The Punch editorial reveals the 2artisan and sym2athetic feature of Daily Trust editorial: …Sowore ran for 2resident in the last general election. He 2olled 33,953 votes or 0.12 2ercent of the 28,614,190 votes cast. Soon afteerward, he embarked on a 2rotest tagged "Revolution Now", for which he was arrested and charged to court for treason… Furthermore, the editorial made references to current aids of the 2resident who are continually in quick res2onses to defend the administration: …Presidential s2okesman Femi Adesina said the news2a2er's stand was 2roof of Buhari's commitment to free s2eech and 2ress freedom. Senior S2ecial Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu in a se2arate statement accused the news2a2er of '2ersonal hatred and animus' for the 2resident. Presidential Advisory Committpee Against Corru2tion chairman Prof. Itse Sagay described the editorial as disgraceful and disres2ectful. Senior Advocate of Nigeria Dr Alex Izinyon said PUNCH's editorial 2olicy was unconstitutional and that "des2ite the acts com2lained about, he remains the 2resident"… Afteer making reference as exem2lifiged above, Daily Trust made the assertion below: …Everything considered, we believe that PUNCH went overboard in its reaction. It has the right to take a 2osition on any issue, but to describe an elected government as a 'regime' and to refuse to recognize the 2resident by his statutory title is an attpem2t to delegitimize an elected 2resident and the government he heads… It has ofteen been said that the media is se2arable from the government. Thie above fignding is in consonance with other studies  that have re2orted media biases and sentiments when re2orting events, es2ecially 2olitical issues. Nigeria's media is shrouded in a socio-2olitical, economic, and ethnic undertone. Being a 2a2er with a 2redominantly northern allegiance, it may not be sur2rising for this study to uncover the sym2athetic frame in the Daily Trust editorial.

Indiffeerence Frame
Widely, it has been found that most media organizations have one interest or the other to 2rotect. Thiis is evident in the case of The Nation news2a2er. Thie 2a2er's editorial did not rightly condemn the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari without 2ainting one of the ca2tive, Mr Sowore, in bad light. Thie excer2t below is at the o2ening of the editorial; the 2a2er was critical about the state of human rights abuse in the country. Having attpacked the government, the 2a2er did not s2are one of the ca2tives of human rights abuse, Mr. Sowore: …Day followed day, and Omoyele Sowore was still behind bars. Week followed week, and it was no longer a mattper of levity. …Thie Buhari administration was now known to follow a familiar scri2t. We are witnessing it in the cases of former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki and the Shiite leader Ibrahim el Zakzaky. Were we going to acce2t this jackboot style under a democracy? …Sowore was a 2residential candidate who lost because the electorate largely ignored him. A man, who was under investigation by his own 2arty for fignancial o2acity, was now vaulted into a conclave of heroes by a DSS that did not seem to understand the sociology of 2rotests and the stature of those who could stir disaffeection in the land…

CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION
Thie current 2a2er ex2lores the framing of Muhammadu Buhari's administration and its human right saga. Thie editorials of four news2a2er were investigated in this regard-The Punch, The Nation, Daily Trust, and Vanguard . Thiis study concludes, based on its figndings, that the selected news2a2ers' editorial used varieties of frames: unre2entant dictator frame, resistance frame, warning frame, indiffeerence frame and sym2athetic frame. Furthermore, the reveals that the Daily Trust news2a2er is on the side of the government in re-s2ect of issue human rights as it is revealed that their 2osition on national issues like the figght against human rights abuse is subject to ethnic and 2olitical influuences, On the other hand, The Nation is indiffeerent des2ite the 2a2ers close tie with the current government. Thie study has also revealed that editorials are critical tools that can be used to curtail the excess of government, 2recisely, to figght human rights abuse. Thie study recommends that news2a2er 2ublishers should reduce their editorial influuences in day to day administration of news outlet in order to engender objectivity, news balance and accuracy. Besides, the sensitive attpributes of human rights challenges should be taken into consideration by 2ublishers in order not to exacerbate the situation in a multi-ethnic society like Nigeria.