The
Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has expressed grave
concern over Monday’s invasion of the
corporate Head Office of The Sun Publishing
Limited in Apapa, Lagos, by the
operatives of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) with a call on
the “Federal Government and all people of reason and goodwill to call the
anti-graft agency to order.”
In a
statement signed by NPAN President and Publisher of This Day, Mr Nduka
Obaigbena, the newspaper proprietors condemned the manner the EFCC operatives
swooped on The Sun Newspapers’ premises in the early morning of June 12 “while
Nigerians were commemorating the historic day of free expression, and ordered
security men to take them on a guided tour of the premises of the newspaper.”
“The EFCC
operatives, subsequently prevented journalists and staff from performing their
constitutional duties, and abridging their rights to Free Speech by preventing
those who were in the premises from leaving, and others reporting for duty from
entering the premises,” the statement read.
NPAN accused
the Acting EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu, of embarking on a vengeance mission
considering the manner Monday’s raid was carried out, especially following his
(Magu) recent threat to sue The Sun for libel over a recent publication.
“Although
the EFCC said they were there to enforce a 10-year old Interim Order of
Forfeiture on the shareholding of Sun Newspapers, the editors said the EFCC
officials were there on a vengeance and intimidation mission to settle scores
on several stories published by the newspaper, including the alleged ownership
of certain properties by the wife of the EFCC
Acting Chairman for which he had threatened libel lawsuits. Instead of
lawsuits, the EFCC operatives raided the newspaper offices to revive a 10-year
old Interim Order of Forfeiture that is already before an appellate court.
“Given these
developments, it is our considered view that the EFCC, being a State
institution and a creation of the law, cannot be above the law: and the manner
of the invasion tends to suggest that the EFCC was out on a self-help mission,
a voyage to intimidate journalists, criminalise journalism and cow free speech.
“We should
continue to remind ourselves that this crude tactics of invasion of media
houses and harassment of journalists did not work in the past, is not going to
work now, and will never work. It is unknown to the Constitution of The Federal
Republic of Nigeria,” the statement said.
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