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The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and journalists, has condemned the invasion of Daily Trust by the Nigerian army.
The Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) also in a statement condemned the siege by the armed operatives on the premises of the prominent northern newspaper.
The two bodies equally demanded the immediate release of the regional editor of the newspaper.
The editor, Uthman Abubakar was arrested on Sunday alongside one of his reporters, Ibrahim Sawab.
Mr Sawab was eventually released Monday afternoon after a rattled presidency had ordered the armed soldiers to vacate the premises of the newspaper.
CEO and editor-in-chief of Daily Trust, Mannir Dan Ali earlier told PREMIUM TIMES that the military authorities promised to release Mr Sawab after a special team arrives Maiduguri and interrogate him.
He said the military said they will release him once he produces a surety and that the chairman of Borno State chapter of NUJ had agreed to serve as the surety.
The journalists were arrested over a story about an impending military operation published in the Sunday edition of the newspaper.
IPI, Outraged
In a letter sent to the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, IPI described the arrest of journalists and siege of the newspaper’s offices in Maiduguri and Abuja as an attack on media freedom in the country.
“The authorities have provided no evidence that the information published by the Daily Trust would endanger military lives or the security of military operations to an extent that would outweigh the freedom and responsibility of any independent newspaper to inform readers of significant developments of public interest, of which the Nigerian government’s response to the activities of terrorist organisations is undoubtedly one,” IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi said in the letter to Mr Mohammed.
Mr Trionfi said the army’s actions are inappropriate, disproportionate and appear to constitute an attempt to silence independent media in the country.
“We would like to mention here that the Nigerian security services appear to have adopted a habit of arresting and detaining journalists for their investigative reporting on perceived sensitive subjects.
“In August last year, the security forces arrested Samuel Ogundipe, a journalist with the Premium Times, for his report about a letter sent by the inspector general of police to the vice president detailing actions of the former director of the State Security Service. The police demanded that Ogundipe reveal his sources.
“During the IPI World Congress in June 2018, we raised the issue of the illegal detention of journalist Jonas Abiri, which the government initially denied. However, the government was later forced to produce Abiri before a court after two years spent behind bars. Eventually, Abiri was freed by the court.
“Your excellency, we request you to address this breach of press freedom by the army and ensure that the army releases the regional editor of the Daily Trust and returns the computers taken from the newspaper’s offices.
“We hope that you will keep the promise that President Muhammadu Buhari and you made at the IPI World Congress to uphold media freedom and create a conducive climate for independent media to thrive in Nigeria,” the institute wrote.
NPAN Kicks
Meanwhile NPAN also flayed the federal government and the army over the invasion.
“The NPAN condemns, in very strong terms, the siege on Daily Trust, the arrest and detention of its staff as well as seizure of its computers.
“Where an infraction is alleged, the best option is to follow due process and civility; not kneejerk, not intimidation and spread of fear in the civil society.
“We have gone too far in search of law and order regime than to countenance such display of raw power and emotion over due process,” it said in a statement.
The newspaper employers urged the federal government to abide by global best practices in resolving contentious issues with the press.
“The weekend siege on the Daily Trust newspaper premises, was clearly unconstitutional, without due process and an act of self help,” it said. “Additionally, it showed a poor appreciation of the advancement in information dissemination in the global village where news is disseminated at the touch of a keyboard and not necessarily in a fixed address. This is 2019 and those who gave the vexatious order ought to know better.”
