Publisher of Premium Times, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi has taken a swipe at the Nigerian Government over what he described as the abuse of the institutional obligations of the media in a democratic society.
In a set of tweets published on his Twitter account @DapsyOly on Monday, he decried the Nigerian government’s abuse of freedom of expression, raising concerns about how the impediment of press freedom spells doom for the country’s democracy.
According to Olorunyomi, “The first rationale for FOE is that it gives proper meaning to the functioning of democracy. The second rationale for FOE is that it is the core element in the search of truth. Lastly, it is instrumental in achieving individual self fulfilment and autonomy.”
“For FOE to work in the service of our democracy investigative journalism has a primary place in the governance equation. When officials hinder media work through abuse they violate the spirit of Sec. 22 of the const. but media must also push back,” he tweeted.
Recalling the attack launched by Nigerian security agents on his media organisation Premium Times, and his subsequent arrest alongside his colleague over an allegedly defamatory publication, the renowned journalist described the incident as a case of the “incompetence at the army public relations unit”, describing it also as an “abuse of police power”.
Olorunyomi also called on the media to adhere to the tenets of professional journalism, noting that “No govt or power structure wants a free press, we must fight hard to earn it through ethical and strict professionalism.”
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“Me and a colleague were arrested for alleged defamation, a patently illegal law, then we were accused of supporting Boko Haram. The second accusation was a fiction in the minds of the army public relations director designed to set up a treason charge”, he said.
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