By Sylvia Akpan
A Civil Society Organization promoting economic and ecological justice in the Niger Delta, Policy Alert has called on the government of Akwa Ibom State and security agencies to stop using a gestapo tactic to hound journalists.
This is on the heels of gorilla’s tactics deployed to arrest newspaper distributor, Mr. Chidi Ngadiubia, and the futile arrest of the publisher of The Mail Newspaper, Mr. Ifreke Nseowo by security agents suspected to hail from Akwa Ibom State Government over the weekend.
In the statement by the Executive Director of Policy Alert, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, condemned the gesture and called on State actors to respect the fundamental human rights of journalists, enjoined those aggrieved to always tow the part of redress in court rather than using force.
The NGO called for the immediate release of Mr. Chidi, adding that the media are empowered to hold the government accountable as enshrined in section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The statement reads, “We are deeply concerned about these developments as they constitute a threat to the life, safety, and fundamental human rights of both Ngadiubia and Nseowo, and their families.
“We have observed a rising spate in incidents that constrain media freedom and civic space and must restate that the freedom and fundamental rights of citizens, including the media and human rights defenders, are not subject to the whims and caprices of security operatives or the government. If anyone is offended by reports in The Mail Newspaper, the police should invite Nseowo formally. There are civilized approaches to seeking redress rather than using security operatives to hound journalists and newspaper distributors.
“The media has a responsibility to hold the government accountable to the people and we will not sit back and watch any attempt to intimidate journalists and use scare tactics to stop them from performing their constitutional roles. We want to put the Akwa Ibom State Government and the Nigerian Police on notice that the international human rights community has been alerted to this disturbing trend.”
Leave feedback about this