THE ARREST OF PREMIUM TIMES REPORTER

I had meant to talk about this matter, but I always restrained myself for fear of being accused of defending the government. More so, I am also a man of the pen, and can also fall victim of the same fate that has befallen the Premium Times reporter, Samuel Ogundipe. But let's check things out properly...

The whole Nigerians have been lashing out at the police for "trying to gag" journalists. Those that had been looking for opportunity to attack the government, have gone to town with how this government has taken them back to the draconian days of Abacha or even the days of Buhari military regime, No one cares to know the offence of the said journalist; it does not matter. After all, journalism is equal to licence to do as one pleases. We do no longer care about putting national security in perspective when we talk about journalism and press freedom.

Ok, following the sack of Daura as DG DSS, Acting President Osinbajo directed the IG to produce a report, and the latter did as directed, but before the Acting President could see the security report, Premium Times security correspondent had already published it. And to us all, it never mattered? Such leakage should not bother any government? A security report? And we keep shouting press freedom, and how no other government on earth can ever arrest a journalist?

Again, the content of the said report as we know it today is only from the account of the said Samuel, which is to the effect that Lawal Daura was working with some highly placed politicians to undermine the government. Who also know whether this is outright falsehood, since so far none of us is privy to the actual report submitted to the Acting President? And if indeed, the report happens to be false and misleading, should government also not anything because press freedom confers on a journalist the right to write and publish whatever pleases him?

A little google check will show us how often journalists run foul of law, and how often they are arrested and detained over matters touching on security and sundry issues. I will use the best democratic nation, America, as a case study. Only last year, on 13th December precisely, the US Press Freedom Tracker reported the arrest and detention of a journalist, Priscilla Villarreal. Citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal was arrested by the Laredo Police Department and charged with two felony counts of “misuse of official information” on December 13, 2017. Vilarreal's offence was that she published the name of a Border Patrol agent who committed suicide on her Facebook page in April, before the Laredo Police Department’s official release about the incident. Please, kindly juxtapose this with the action of the Premium Times correspondent who published the report of the IG, not only before official release, but before the acting president could even see the report.

The truth is that as a nation, we take too much for granted. A nation in which the same Premium Times had one of its correspondents report that Miyetti Allah chairman claimed his people killed the Birom people because 300 cows belonging to them were killed. That lie from the bit of hell angered Nigerians, and exacerbated an already bad situation, by heightening tension in the land and causing further bad blood. The media outfit would come out later to announce the sack of the said reporter, and publicly apologize, but was there any undoing the damage they had already done with their irresponsible and unprofessional reportage?

This nation is ours; and at a moment like this, there's need for a bit of circumspection in all we do. The fake news and hate speeches flying up and down are still what we call press freedom, and any concern raised by government or security is seen as attempt at gagging us. The news is that the democracies we emulate have already started putting measures in place and passing enabling laws to check the menace of fake news and hate speeches, knowing how dangerous they are, and their capability to set a nation on fire, especially a nation like ours.

Concluding, I will leave with us, in the comment box, the full report of the American case I cited, including the link. And I will sign off this article with the charge to fellow Nigerians to allow the security do their work. If, as Premium Times claimed, Mr Ogundipe's account has been frozen, then, I have every reason to believe that there could be much more than we are being told.

OP! Are you the author of this work before I know how to comment?

You made good points. Journalists sometimes walk a thin line between getting an exclusive scoop and spreading news that might be a security issue. That being said, everybody is still entitled to their fundamental human rights. If he is being held for breach of security and he has ran foul of the law, the next best thing is to charge him to court. My two kobo sha!

blujoi:
You made good points. Journalists sometimes walk a thin line between getting an exclusive scoop and spreading news that might be a security issue. That being said, everybody is still entitled to their fundamental human rights. If he is being held for breach of security and he has ran foul of the law, the next best thing is to charge him to court. My two kobo sha!

Stupid comment to retarded post! SMH