The National Advocacy of Social Action has described Sunday’s invasion by the Nigerian Army of Daily Trust offices in Maiduguri and Abuja as threat to democracy and basic freedoms.
A statement by the Head of Social Action Nigeria, Vivian Bellonwu-Okafor Monday said the military’s action was reminiscent of the dark years of military regimes.
The full statement:
The recent reported invasion of a Nigerian media house, the Daily Trust Newspapers and the brutalization and arrest of Journalists therein by the Nigerian Army is another gloomy development in the Country’s polity and an alarming threat to its nascent democracy.
For a Nation with full-fledged rule of law institutions in place, including robust and active judiciary, the Nigerian Army’s recourse to a futile self-help, intimidation and brutality to vent whatever perceived grouse it has against the media outfit, is a slap on the face of the Country’s democracy and a clear threat to basic freedoms.
According to the Head of National Advocacy of Social Action, Nigeria, Vivian Bellonwu-Okafor, “this deed is reminiscent of the dark and dreary days of military regime in the country of which its yokes, pains and indeed scars are still very much fresh in lives and memory of Nigerians and the Country as a whole”.
Social Action Nigeria, therefore strongly charges the government to immediately investigate this illegality and sanction all the culpable officers who both authorized and carried out the act in other to reinforce the critical safeguards of the Country’s democracy.
