Between Visibility and Marginalisation: Framing, Sources, and Tone in Nigerian Newspaper Coverage of Irregular Migration, 2020 to 2023

Abstract

This study examined how three leading Nigerian daily newspapers, namely The Punch, The Guardian, and The Sun, covered irregular migration over a 41-month period from January 2020 to May 2023. Employing a systematic quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 362 stratified randomly sampled articles, the study investigated four dimensions: frequency and prominence of coverage, dominant frames, source diversity, and tonal orientation. Findings reveal that coverage was characterised by low editorial prioritisation, with 79.8 per cent of articles placed on inside pages and episodic framing accounting for 74.0 per cent of stories. The security frame (27.1%), humanitarian frame (23.5%), and criminal justice frame (21.0%) dominated, collectively accounting for 71.6 per cent of all articles. Institutional sources comprising government agencies (28.1%), international organisations (21.4%), and officials (11.7%) constituted 70.8 per cent of all citations, whilst migrants themselves represented only 7.8 per cent of sources. Negative tone prevailed in 48.6 per cent of articles, and 39.5 per cent employed stigmatising terminology despite international guidelines recommending neutral language. The findings demonstrate systematic marginalisation of migrant voices, limited thematic depth, and inconsistent adherence to ethical reporting standards. The study theorises these patterns within an integrated framework of agenda setting, framing, agenda-building, gatekeeping, and social responsibility theories, and proposes implications for journalism practice, media training, and migration governance in Nigeria.