COALITION OF AKWA IBOM  STATE MEDIA PROFESSIONALS
225 Airport Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
October 11, 2018.

BEFORE THE DARK CLOUD FALLS ON AKWA IBOM MEDIA PRACTITIONERS AND OTHER VOCAL AKWA IBOM INDIGENES!

On Monday, men of the Nigerian Police Force opened an unfortunate page in the chapter of the book of intimidation, arrest and detention of Akwa Ibom people on the bidding of politicians by hurriedly arresting and detaining the Chairman, Board of Trusteees of the Independent Newspaper Publishers Association and Publisher of the Guide Newspaper, Prince Emmanuel Sam.

Impeccable inteligence at our disposal reveal that the Police merely acted on the bidding of the Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr Nsima Ekere, who had convinced himself that the only way to ventilate his grievance over the investigative report published by the Guide Newspaper is to clamp down on the publisher using the Police.

We gathered that in the contentious report, the Guide Newspaper had raised cogent questions that caused the claim of the purported attack on Nsima Ekere's residence to fall flat on the face. Mr Nsima Ekere, apparently upset by the cogent questions that the Guide Newspaper had raised in the report which he decided to use the privileges that the office of the Managing Dicrector of NDDC has accorded him to  hound, got an Akwa Ibom son, Emmanuel Sam arrested and detained.

As a coalition, we hereby make the following submissions:

1. In case Mr Ekere is yet to realize, the questions raised in that report published in the Guide Newspaper only mirrored the mindset and questions millions of Akwa Ibom people asked immediately the claim by Mr Nsima Ekere got into public domain. To wit, Akwa Ibom people have asked how possible it is for hoodlums and hired assasins to get past the heavy detachment of combined security operatives (Military Men, DSS operatives, Mobile Policemen, and other security agents) who are always stationed at the residence of the NDDC MD to launch an attack on Mr Ekere? How come there was no gun battle between the attackers and the heavy detachment of security operatives working for Nsima Ekere?  Like Senator John James Udoedeghe had said in a radio interview, Mr Ekere moves around in a convoy heavily populated with Security operatives. These were the questions on the lips of millions of Akwa Ibom people.

2. We will like to remind Mr Ekere that, the position of the Managing Director of NDDC which he is privileged today to occupy was zoned to Akwa Ibom State and not to him as a person. This therefore means that he occupies that position in trust on behalf of the about 6 million Akwa Ibom people. If anything, every thought that comes to his head should bother on how he could use the position to contribute to helping build a more prosperous state for us and our children. But it is apparent that his entire thinking is centered around how he could use the privileges that come with the office to hound, harrass and intimidate Akwa Ibom people in a bid to silent dissenting voices who are only out to speak the truth irrespective of partisan leanings. We recall that Akwa Ibom state has had the likes of Ambassador Sam Edem and Bassey Dan Abia who served as Managing Directors of the same NDDC, and at no time did the two of them descend to this very anti-people level irrespective of the many publications back then that placed their actions and words under public scrutiny. 

3. We hereby alert the world that the life of Mr Emmanuel Sam and that of his family and indeed every Akwa Ibom person, especially the youths are in danger. Intel we have gotten shows that the people who orchestrated Mr Emmanuel Sam's arrest and detention have other dark schemes in their playbook. As things stand, Akwa Ibomites and indeed the world should know that many of their sons and daughters may be cut in their prime just for questioning the claims by these selfish politicians and asking them important questions which exposes their real intentions.

4. Let it be known that as media practitioners, we are united in the task of standing on the side of the people and in solidarity with our colleagues. That singular injury to Mr Emmanuel Sam who we hold in high esteem and who remains a worthy compatroit is an injury to everyone of us in the media profession in Akwa Ibom State. We already hold a loathsome disposition to everyone who had a hand in that arrest. Even though we hear that they are planning to kill us, our committment to speaking the truth and staying as the voice of the people of Akwa Ibom state remains total.

Information at our disposal shows that Mr Emmanuel Sam will be arraigned in court tomorrow. As media professionals, we shall all troop out to court in solidarity with one of our members who has been singled out as a starting point of the Promise of Warsaw. Let them send their armies to come and kill us there. It would be easier as they will find us in a large number at the court premises

God bless Akwa Ibom State!

Signed.

Comrade Itoro Solomon

Comrade Bassey Akpan Bassey

Mfon Johnson Umoh

For and on behalf of COALITION OF AKWA IBOM  STATE MEDIA PROFESSIONALS