In 1984, Buhari passed Decree Number 4, the Protection Against False Accusations Decree—a decree that is considered by many critics and scholars to be the most repressive press law ever enacted in the country. The law allowed the government to try and prosecute anyone who was found guilty of writing, publishing or making any statement that ridiculed or questioned the federal government or a public office—without the option of an appeal. If journalists thought it was a bluff, they were quickly corrected. Shortly after the decree, Buhari’s government went on to jail several members of the press, including Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson.

For years, despite the widespread condemnation of the law, President Buhari refused to apologize for enacting the decree. In March 2015, during an interactive session with editors of the Nigerian Press Organization, when asked if he would be willing to apologize to journalists that he jailed during his military rule, Buhari simply ignored the question.

In May, Buhari finally met with one of the journalist he jailed. However, many have questioned the credibility of the meeting, seeing as Tunde Thompson was himself a member of the APC media team in charge of coordinating the president’s media activities during his campaign. Despite claims from the APC that Buhari apologized for instituting decree 4, there are no records to support his. Only insinuations.

Which brings us to today. According to The Nation, in a statement that seemed literally like a reworded version of Decree 4, the ICPC has announced that it intends to attack users of social media. Speaking with reporters in Abuja yesterday, Barrister Ekpo Nta, the chair of the ICPC said that the commission had the authority to go against anyone who was found guilty of making malicious statements or petitions.

“If you look at social media platforms, they are awash now with all kinds of malicious petitions and mudslinging on the people, they should know they are not protected by the (freedom of speech) law. Everybody is supposed to be a whistle blower under our Act, but I will like to warn at this junction that a lot of malicious petitions are also making the rounds, the people who are making these malicious petitions for their personal goods should also know that they are not protected by the law. He said. “The ICPC Acts provide for prosecution, and we will definitely prosecute them.”

The announcement has drawn swift condemnations by several prominent members of the media, including Ben Murray Bruce.




For more News update please visit www.watchdognews.net

Story

Nice poem