Amnesty International has called for an end to the incessant attack on the media and journalists in Nigeria.
The human rights
organisation made the call while condemning the verbal attack on a Daily Trust
reporter, Eyo Charles, in Calabar by a former Minister of Aviation, Femi
Fani-Kayode.
PREMIUM TIMES
earlier reported how Mr Charles had a sour encounter at a press briefing with
Mr Fani-Kayode.
A video circulating
on WhatsApp shows Mr Fani-Kayode abruptly leaving the briefing after pouring
invective on Mr Charles who he said asked him an “insulting” question.
The incident
happened on Thursday at a private hotel where the former minister was briefing
reporters on his tour of projects in the South-South state.
The briefing was
moderated by Governor Ben Ayade’s spokesperson, Christian Ita, and attended by
reporters from Vanguard, Punch, NAN, AIT, and other media houses.
A statement released
on Amnesty International Twitter page on Tuesday says: “Journalists seek
accountability on behalf of the people and should not be threatened or abused
for asking questions. These patterns of attacks on media and journalists must
end.
“Journalists play a
key role in promoting the right to information by documenting and disseminating
information. Journalists have been contending with challenges that make their
job difficult. They should be able to do their job free from violence, abuse
and threats,” it added.
Since the
circulation of the video on Twitter on Tuesday, several Nigerians and
organisations have condemned Mr Fani-Kayode’s action.
Daily Trust
newspaper, in a statement on the incident, said its reporter did nothing wrong
and condemned Mr Fani-Kayode pouring invective on him for asking a question at
the press briefing.
Also, the Nigeria
Union of Journalists (NUJ) condemned the verbal attack on the journalist by Mr
Fani-Kayode.
The NUJ, through its
President, Chris Isiguzo, described Mr Fani-Kayode’s attack on Mr Charles as
“gangster-like.”
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