The Peoples Democratic (PDP) Party caucus in the House of Representatives on Friday spoke against the alleged move by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to stifle press freedom by using the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and security agents.
Kingsley Chinda, leader of the caucus, said the latest notice of infraction issued by the NBC against Channels Television and subsequent grilling of some anchors of the station by the DSS over its interview with Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State was an “abuse of democracy and move to stifle press freedom.”
They said it was sad that the Federal Government is busy clamping down on media houses and journalists at a time the nation is drifting into a “Hobbesian state amidst the raging insecurity currently engulfing the nation.”
“We are also monitoring widespread reports that members of staff of Channels Television have been invited to the office of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) for interrogation in connection with their handling of the programme.
“The government of President Muhammadu Buhari is preoccupied with hounding perceived enemies of the administration and stifling the press, acts which are antithetical to democratic ethos.
“The assault on press freedom has reached a crescendo under this administration. Little wonder that Nigeria has emerged as the most dangerous place in West Africa for journalists, according to a survey released by global media advocacy organization, Reporters without Borders also known as Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) to mark the 2020 World Press Freedom Day,” the caucus said in a statement.
It then called on President Buhari to live up to his mandate to defend and protect the Constitution by immediately directing all relevant organs of state to desist from any further harassment of Channels Television or any other print or electronic media platform, as same violates the provisions of Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression and, by extension, Press freedom”, the PDP caucus said in the statement.
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