Emmanuel Aziken, Victor Ahiuma-Young and Olasunkanmi Akoni
19 September 2008
THE Chairman of Channels Television whose operating licence was suspended on Wednesday, Mr. John Momoh, yesterday visited the headquarters of the State Security Service (SSS) in Abuja. He was later allowed to go home.
Also allowed home last night after two days in the SSS custody were Mr. John Ndukauba, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of NAN; Mr. Bashir Adigun, Regional Editor; and Mr. Sola Olaniya, Station Manager of Channels in Abuja.
Mr. Ndukauba was released to the Managing Director of NAN, Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, while Messrs Adigun and Olaiya were released to Mr. Momoh.
Mr. Momoh who was abroad when his television station carried the story on the purported plan of President Umaru Yar'Adua to resign returned home on Wednesday night, apologising to government for the situation. He promised to be in Abuja yesterday to formally seek forgiveness.
Mr. Momoh arrived the SSS headquarters met with top officials of the organisation. Details of the two meetings were not immediately known.
However, the action of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in suspending Channels' licence continued to draw flak from different quarters yesterday, the prominent critics being Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, the opposition Action Congress (AC), Senator Chris Anyanwu, and the Directorate of Social Communications of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.
Governor Fashola of Lagos State reacting to the suspension of Channels' licence dismissed the NBC action as illegal and undemocratic. He asked the Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice ter and more proactive approach to reacting to incidents such as this as we go forward," he said
Suspension of Channels' licence illegal - AC
The Action Congress (AC) described the suspension of the licence of Channels TV as illegal and a shocking case of killing a fly with a sledge hammer.
The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the action also amounted to a declaration of war on the free press, which the government cannot and will never win.
It, therefore, called on President Yar'Adua to immediately order the lifting of the suspension, which violates the code of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and which cannot serve any purpose beyond putting a distance between the government and the media.
"First, the NBC cannot just suspend or revoke the licence of an offending station without first warning the station or giving it a fair hearing, among other procedures prescribed by the NBC code. Flouting the provisions of the code amounts to an act of illegality and lack of due process by the NBC.
"It also amounts to a terrible faux pas for a government that touts the rule of law as a mantra to so wilfully act illegally. Since we believe the so-called suspension may not have had the blessing of President Yar'Adua, the apostle of the rule of law, we urge him to intervene to ensure that due process is followed in this case," AC said.
AC in a another statement urged the nation's security and intelligence agencies to beam their searchlight on the PDP as they investigate the source of the hoax on President Yar'Adua's plan to resign on health grounds.
According to the AC, the level of paranoia within the highest echelons of the PDP and the rate at which they attribute every problem to the opposition indicate they are trying to deflect attention from their nefarious activities.
It's jungle justice - Osu
The Director, Social Communications of the Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, the very Reverend Monsignor Gabriel Osu, on his part said: "The closure of Channels TV in respect of the purported resignation of the President is undemocratic and against the rule of law; it shows over-zealousness and impatience of security operatives and other officials in the performance of their duties. It is an action of officials to save their faces and jobs."
He said "if we are really practising democracy, the NBC, security personnel as well as other officials should not have rushed to close down Channels Television, but should have first refuted the allegation and then organise a thorough investigation to unravel the origin of the news and get the truth of the matter, instead of closing down the station before investigating.
"The closure shows high-handedness, a return to the inglorious days of the military. It's jungle justice and it has surely put Nigeria in a very bad light in the international community, as it is also against the NBC code of 24 hours to explain what happened.
Given that the information is not correct, that President Yar'Adua may resign after constituting his cabinet, the only option left for the FG was to refute the information and go on to investigate," he said.
Bad for democracy - Senator Anyanwu
Senator Chris Anyanwu (PDP, Imo East) also condemned the closure of Channels Television, saying it was a throw back to the era of lawlessness under the military.
Senator Anyanwu, herself, a former broadcast journalist, in her reaction to the circumstances leading to the closure of the broadcast outfit said it was now imperative for the country to fortify its cyberspace to prevent such mistakes that led to the closure of Channels.
"This is bad for our democracy," Senator Anyanwu who was herself imprisoned in 1995 on account of her journalism career by the then military regime said yesterday.
"We have to employ different approaches from the military and it just will not work well for our international image or even our democracy. I think government should sit down with the media and civil society and discuss things. Mistakes do always happen," she said.
Noting that the development was sufficient reason for the nation to guard its cyberspace from mischief, Senator Anyanwu said: "It brings out the fact that these days that wars are not only fought with guns but on cyberspace. Obviously, this could have been done from any country in the world and the goal is to confuse and create confusion in the minds of people.
"Now that we have to take cyber wars seriously, there is no need to go to the degree they have done. They should reopen Channels, release the journalists and understand that they are doing their job. where we have gone wrong on the part of journalists, were we have made mistakes.
We have to come clean and acknowledge we have made mistakes and acknowledge it," Senator Anyanwu, vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence (Army), said.
Unacceptable -Aturu
Lagos lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu said: "The closure of Channels Television is totally unacceptable and must be resisted on all fronts. It is an affront on our democratic rights as a people.
If we allow it, this government will go a step further and throw us back to the best forgotten days of military dictatorship that many of us fought against.
Many of our compatriots lost their lives, while many of us were imprisoned by the military in the fight against dictatorship when these people who are now closing media houses were enjoying their own 'freedom'.
"This is a wake up call to all who love our democracy that the Yar'Adua administration is not deserving of any sympathies of our people. It must not be allowed to get with this brazen act meant to curtail civil freedoms.
"I join other Nigerians to demand the immediate and unconditional re-opening of Channels TV and restoration of its full rights to carry out its constitutional duties.
TUC, DSM
fault closure
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and Democrative Socialist Movement (DSM) also faulted the closure and suspension of operating licence of Channels Television both the State Security Service (SSS) and Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and called for immediate re-opening of the station.
The two bodies in separate statements described the actions of the government agencies as not only a crude military assault reminiscent of the dark day of military dictatorship, but a further dent President Yar Adua's the much- touted rule of law and due process.
TUC in its statement by its President-General and Secretary General, Comrade Peter Esele, and Chief John Kolawole respectively, said: "The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) decries the recent suspension of the operating licence of the Channels Television over a report on Mr. President's ill-health and alleged resignation.
The TUC believes that the suspension of the licence and closure of the television station is a misnomer and reminds us of the heydays of the military when media houses were closed down at the least provocation.
The closure will bring a lot of hardship to the hundreds of workers in the station who have been suddenly rendered redundant. What government should have done is to fully investigate the source of the report which the station allegedly used and bring the culprits to book for putting across false information."
On its part, DSM in a statement by its General Secretary, Mr. Segun Sango, said: "This highhanded action of Yar'Adua government, which is reminiscent of the military absolutism, has further rubbished the much- touted rule of law and due process posturing of the administration. Instead of resorting to the arbitrary and reprehensible self-help approach, the government led by a supposedly civil President Umar Yar'Adua should have gone to court if it felt that the TV station had committed any offence.
This action is indicative of the capacity of Yar'Adua government to unleash state apparatus of terror on any divergent view or action protesting the policies of the government."
Minister, Chief Michael Aondoakaa, to advise the Presidency to reopen the station immediately and unconditionally.
The governor at a press conference in his Ikeja office said though the Channels TV might have erred in the dissemination of the information in question, the Federal Government itself ought to follow due process in its reaction.
He insisted that government should exercise restraint so that a wrong signal might not be sent to foreign investors.
His words: "It is unfortunate that it has happened but it depends on which side you are looking at it. Legally, I think it is judgmental to have shut it down because there is an existing law to determine such difference.
"It is not right to break the law to enforce it. Shutting down media is not ideal for our nascent democracy, especially when such move did not go through the due process; clearly, if there had been infraction of the law, there shouldn't be any kids glove in enforcing it.
"Shutting down a media house at this period of our democratic development will send wrong signal to the international world.
It is an infringement on the right of the station itself and an infringement of the rights of the third parties which might have had a contractual agreement with third parties to air their programmes and events, a situation that might have been affected by the closure.
"Don't also forget that the station also employs people, so there is economic angle to the closure. All of these must require deep reflection to enable us arrive at a bet
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I believe the SSS has gone too far this time.They have ridiculed democracy in the country, and we might as well be back to the military rule instead of practising fake democracy. President George Bush as powerful in the world had a show on TV depicting him when he was young, there have been many articles on him that said many things that were not true yet he did not direct the CIA to arrest the editors involved. Why is it so different in Nigeria.The freedom of information bill has to pass in that country before we really say we are practising democracy. The arrest of the editors due to the fact that they published an article not favorable to Yaradua is an insult to the human right and sovereinity of these editors as a citizen of a country where democracy is said to be oractised. In the world news papers, you see carricatures of presidents printed all over but to no problem to the editors or publishers . Only in Nigeria do we portray this as an insult. One of the duties of the SSS is the need to see the security of the country is not jeopardized, The printing of the article that the president is sick or the president wants to resign does not in any way jeopardize the nations security.SSS is misusing power on its citizens, and this must be addressed immediately by the senate to promote this democracy we are preaching and practising at the moment.
I believe the SSS has gone too far this time.They have ridiculed democracy in the country, and we might as well be back to the military rule instead of practising fake democracy. President George Bush as powerful in the world had a show on TV depicting him when he was young, there have been many articles on him that said many things that were not true yet he did not direct the CIA to arrest the editors involved. Why is it so different in Nigeria.The freedom of information bill has to pass in that country before we really say we are practising democracy. The arrest of the editors due to the fact that they published an article not favorable to Yaradua is an insult to the human right and sovereinity of these editors as a citizen of a country where democracy is said to be oractised. In the world news papers, you see carricatures of presidents printed all over but to no problem to the editors or publishers . Only in Nigeria do we portray this as an insult. One of the duties of the SSS is the need to see the security of the country is not jeopardized, The printing of the article that the president is sick or the president wants to resign does not in any way jeopardize the nations security.SSS is misusing power on its citizens, and this must be addressed immediately by the senate to promote this democracy we are preaching and practising at the moment.
I believe the SSS has gone too far this time.They have ridiculed democracy in the country, and we might as well be back to the military rule instead of practising fake democracy. President George Bush as powerful in the world had a show on TV depicting him when he was young, there have been many articles on him that said many things that were not true yet he did not direct the CIA to arrest the editors involved. Why is it so different in Nigeria.The freedom of information bill has to pass in that country before we really say we are practising democracy. The arrest of the editors due to the fact that they published an article not favorable to Yaradua is an insult to the human right and sovereinity of these editors as a citizen of a country where democracy is said to be oractised. In the world news papers, you see carricatures of presidents printed all over but to no problem to the editors or publishers . Only in Nigeria do we portray this as an insult. One of the duties of the SSS is the need to see the security of the country is not jeopardized, The printing of the article that the president is sick or the president wants to resign does not in any way jeopardize the nations security.SSS is misusing power on its citizens, and this must be addressed immediately by the senate to promote this democracy we are preaching and practising at the moment.