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 Daily
Independent Online.
* Tuesday, June 22, 2004.
Fresh onslaught on the press in Rivers
The now familiar tendency to
visit journalists with occasional harassments and indignities by public office
holders in Nigeria received another crude advertisement in Rivers State recently
with the arbitrary arrest and detention of four journalists in Port
Harcourt for undisclosed offences. Messrs Ogbonna Nwuke, Editor-in-Chief,
The Port Harcourt Telegraph, Minere Amakri,
Editor-in-Chief of The Beacon, Livinus Kiebel (formerly Chairman,
Gokana LGA) Editor-in-Chief, The Argus, and Nna Frank-Jack, Editor
of Independent Monitor, were arrested by men of the State Security
Service (SSS) and made to undergo the harrowing ordeal of detention for
about eight hours without trial. These newspapers are regional
publications with headquarters
in Port Harcourt.
This is a sad development, and
certainly not the kind of news for a democratic dispensation. We have had
occasions to deplore the rising incidence of gross intolerance by those
in government towards the press, and their penchant to seek to intimidate
the media for carrying out its legitimate duty of adequately informing
Nigerians. Governments at all levels ought to have duly informed themselves that the
press as a legally constituted organ in society is dully empowered by law to engage in information
dissemination and awareness creation, duties no less legitimate than
those of the Executive and Legislative Arms of Government. We recognise the right of any
individual or group to at any time feel aggrieved with their portrayal in
the media. But, the law has provided lawful, civilised means of seeking
redress in such instances. There are courts of competent
jurisdiction empowered to
entertain all cases of infringement and award appropriate sanctions in
the event of any legitimate
cases of abuse. No doubt, the patience to fully exploit this resource is
one of the hallmarks of democratic culture and practice.
There were reports that the arrest of
these four journalists in Port Harcourt was inspired by the Government
of Dr. Peter Odili, as a way
of getting back at the newspapers for publishing stories which the Governor considered
uncomplimentary. We only hope that this is not true, and that the
Governor would without hesitation not only issue a convincing refutation,
but, as the chief security officer of the State, order full investigation
into this scandalous arrest in order to unearth the identities of those
behind it. We hope also that we are justified in our reluctance to locate
Odili within the crude camp of
anti-democratic elements that now populate our high quarters whose
attitudes and dispositions
are totally at variance with all known norms of democratic
dispensation and practice. Unfortunately, these same journalists had in
this same way been
humiliated and indecently treated during Odili’s first term in office and
several accusing fingers had been pointed the way of the State
Government. Certainly, the
Governor has a responsibility to unambiguously demonstrate that he is not
an enemy of a free and vibrant press and that the untidy practice of stooping to irresponsibly deploy
State powers to settle petty scores is totally beneath him. The current
case presents him a very good opportunity to demonstrate his capacity to
be a statesman and genuine democrat. His inability to seize this chance
with proportionate zeal and dedication will immensely tell on his rating
as a politician and leader in the days to come.
It is our view that Governor Odili ought to belong to the crop
of emergent leaders that has
been variously described as representing a generational change, and by
implication, a paradigm
shift. He should be
wary of failing this high
expectation by aligning himself with, and choosing as models, character
traits and attitudes that present this country with a potent threat of a possible emergence of a
totalitarian leadership class.
Already, the Rivers Governor is on war
path with the Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists
(NUJ), and Journalists Watch Niger Delta (JOWAND), an NGO, which have in
very strong terms condemned without reservations
the detention of the editors. JOWAND has threatened to sue the State
Government while the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) is
asking for compensation for the detained journalists. And as the
scandalous event now attracts more and more attention, especially beyond
the Niger Delta region, harsher condemnations would certainly be laid at
Odili’s doorsteps.
We totally condemn the arrests of the
journalists, and insist on an impartial, transparent probe to establish
the presumed unseen hands
that masterminded it. Society is highly endangered each time
indiscriminate, arbitrary arrests are effected by known and identifiable
organs of the State, but with cloudy sources of authorisation. We sincerely hope that the Odili
administration is one with us in this view.
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