……..Buhari orders military to vacate premises
By Dele Ogbodo
The PDP presidential candidate for the February election, Alh. Atiku Abubabar, has condemned the siege by the military over the Maiduguri and Abuja operational centres of the Daily Trust Media limited.
This is coming as President Muhammadu Buhari through his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Garba Shehu, has ordered that the military vacate the offices immediately.
Atiku who spoke through his media adviser, Mr. Paul Ibe said, the PDP and members of the party are alarmed and outraged by the arrest of regional editor Mr. Uthman Abubakar and a reporter, Ibrahim Sawab based in Maiduguri. Hamza Idris, the political editor of the paper who is said to be at large has been declared by the military, a reliable source hinted.
“We totally condemn these actions and call on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately call off his forces to order and end their attack on the media and the freedom of the press.
“This is a travesty, the likes of which we have not seen since the heinous days of military rule. Atiku Abubakar and other pro-democrats did not risk their lives fighting for democracy for this to happen.
This is unacceptable. The media is not only a partner in progress to the government, but they are also a quasi-arm of government being, as Edmund Burke propounded, the Fourth Estate of the Realm.
The particular use of heavily armed soldiers also shows the abuse of scarce resources which has exacerbated the insecurity currently plaguing Nigeria. he added.
Our soldiers should not be used to target law-abiding citizens. A dutiful and prudent commander-in-chief should rather deploy them to either the Northeast or the Zamfara-Katsina axis, especially after the Governors of both states held New Year’s Day conferences bemoaning the breakdown of law and order in their respective states.
Atiku urged President Buhari to use his powers as C-in-C to protect the people, rather than to oppress Nigerians. If the government has issues with Media Trust Limited, it should bring charges against them at a court of competent jurisdiction or the Nigeria Press Council, the statutory body that governs ethical standards in the Nigerian press.
According to him, Nigeria had a free press before this administration and we assure the President and all Nigerians that a free press will outlast this government.
While the paper is yet to come to terms with losses as a result of the occupation from its circulation sales and advertisement, a reporter who spoke on anonymity said the computers carted away from the offices have not been returned.
He said: “Yes, I can conform that they went away with some of our computers.”
Also, a client who was at the Headquarters of the paper to place an advert had a chilling experience with the soldiers: adding: “During the week end I was at the corporate office of the paper to place an adverts at Utako district but turned back by armed soldiers in their tens who obviously were acting on instruction from the top to seal the office after chasing away the staff.
SHARPEDGENews Online, however learnt that the papers editorial of Saturday 6 may have infuriated the establishment because of its harsh comment with the title: ‘FG is Running Out of Excuses.’ The report dwelt on the renewed push by Boko Haram over its seizure of six towns in Kukawa Local Government of far North Borno State around the Lake Chad basin.
This according to the paper was the biggest setback suffered in war against insurgents in recent years.