The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, has debunked the report by the press freedom organization, Committee
To Protect Journalists (CPJ), that a certain Nigerian journalist has been in
detention for the past two years, reports ITRealms.
The Minister, who issued the rebuttal at the Gala/Award
Night of the International Press Institute (IPI) in Abuja on Friday, said the person
the CPJ was referring to was never a journalist.
“Let me state here, without equivocating, that contrary to
the report by the Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ), no journalist is in detention
in Nigeria. Clement Abiri, who is being referred to as a journalist, is not
one. He does not belong to any chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists. He
was arrested for pipeline vandalism and crude theft, including militant activities
in the Niger Delta,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed restated the commitment of the present
administration to press freedom and gave the assurance that the media has
nothing to fear under the present dispensation.
“In my opening comments at the 2016 IPI Congress in Doha, I
said we as a government view the media as a partner. That remains true. I also said
the media in Nigeria has nothing to fear from this Administration, and that -
if anything - we as a government are the ones who have to fear the media. Also,
that has not changed.
''We are proud that the Nigerian media is one of the most
vibrant in the world. We are proud of the role that the Nigerian media has
played in our long march to democratic governance. This administration will continue
to provide the enabling environment for the journalist to function unmolested,”
he said.
While speaking on the theme of the 67th IPI World Congress,
which is “Why Good Journalism Matters,” the Minister said apart from alerting the
government to the indispensable role of the media in the society, it reminds it
of the purpose of journalism which is to serve all citizens in a democratic
society and to tell the truth.
“If we all agree about this obligation, then it behoves the
media to tell the truth, not just to power, but to the people, making it easier
for them to get the facts in the right context, thus facilitating their
decision-making process. But in an era of growing cases of fake news and
disinformation, can we still say the media – whether traditional or new - is
living true to this dictum? If the answer is no, what does this portend for the
profession in particular and the society in general? I am sure this congress is
examining the issue critically in the course of its deliberations,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed appealed to the media to always report the
government in the right context in order to give the people the opportunity to make
informed decisions.
Uboshe Uboshe/GEE
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