'I am going to answer you. It is so unfortunate how people would wake up and want to run somebody down. There is this scenario that happened to me two weeks ago. One lady came to me and said she has a scandalous story against me and that I should give her N200, 000 so she wouldn’t publish the story, that the story is very bad. She alleged that the case is in court and that she even has pictures of where I was fighting in the public during the period of President Jonathan’s visit to the Police College at Ikeja. I told her that I was not in town during that period. She said that my breast was open in the pictures she had. The funniest thing was that the reporter said the thing happened in January and she called just two weeks ago. How come she was the only person who has the story? I told her that any story that can lead to stripping naked and soiling of clothes must not be an exclusive, that people must have heard of it, that I was not around the day she said the incident happened. So, I told her to go ahead and publish the story that I don’t have money. She said that it was a very bad story. I quickly called her editor. I told her editor that this is what I am passing through. The editor sympathized with me and told me that he was going to take care of it. You know, when she said that, I was provoked and my voice went up high, I was like, which story was that? I was shocked, the Crime Writers Association of Nigeria president came in with two other journalists. You can verify that. Whatever I am telling you now, you can verify that. I knew this lady personally. She is a freelancer for one newspaper. She came to me a week after that incident because, my office according to her, is a public office. So she just walked in and started asking me why I don’t invite her for parades again.
You needed to see the manner this girl just barged into my office. I was discussing with three people and she just walked in. I can even mention the names of the people that were with me when she walked in. She said that I am not behaving the way other PPRO behaved, that I have done two press briefings without inviting her. I told her that if I want anything , I would talk to her editor and not her. After trying to defraud me, she still expects me to invite her for press briefings. So, I told her that if I want to call anybody for any parading, I would call her editor to send somebody who would not want to frame me up. She said that the office is a public office and she hit her hands on my table. If you go to some of these online media, they reported all these things I am telling you. She even put the name of the newspaper she is freelancing for. Three other journalists who were there when the whole thing was happening pleaded with her that she should leave the office for me. She came to provoke me so that she can use the story with which she wanted to extort money from me. So, she fleft the office and after she left, her editor called me and apologized on her behalf.
The next day, I started receiving calls that I was fighting in the office. I didn’t fight. Go to the command, carry out the investigation yourself. Start with my commissioner and every other person in the Lagos command. Nothing like that ever happened. As you leave my office now, go and find out yourself. I was shocked when I heard that. I said, is this what this world is turning into? The internet has gone so bad that anybody posts whatever he/she wants on the internet.
Let me tell you, from the way things are going, in the next 10 years, you would see every citizen of this country having a blog on the internet.
Other blogs just collected the story and kept escalating it without verifications. Nothing like that happened. For me to fight to the extent of tearing my clothes and going naked? People must have seen that and nobody saw it. It is a very big lie. She even said that I brought out a dagger to stab her. Let me tell you something, I am not angry with her. She has succeeded in making me stronger. They should know that I was not elected or appointed to this office. I pass through interviews where I met many officers from the command. If you look at my profile, you will see that I have achieved a lot in this career. I have passed through many commissioners. They were like my direct supervisors. And they will tell you about me. I know what to do and when to do it. I went for promotion course in Jos in 2009. We were over 2000 and I came second and I was called out and appreciated.Nobody wrote the exams for me. I was there for two months studying and I did very well in the exams. Then how can someone come here and say that I came here because, I have something in common with a commissioner of police and she was bold enough to mention the commissioner’s name? That was what she went to the internet to put. The voting that brought me to Lagos was strictly a state voting. It was not a Federal Government voting. It is so unfortunate that somebody can put that online.'
I suspect that the purpose of the Vanguard interview with the PRO was simply to provide her a platform to 'clear' her battered image.
I am aware that the female Journalist referred to in this interview, works with PM News, and that she has a different account of what transpired between her and the PRO. I'm also told that she is unable to speak up because of fear, having been intimidated to silence by boss at PM News at the behest of the PRO. It is important that the Vanguard or any other medium that wishes to report this story should also reflect the side of the female journalist in question for balance and fairness. That is the hallmark of journalism profession. The NUJ, Nigeria Media Council should step into this matter and ensure that truth and justice prevail.
Okechukwu Nwanguma, coordinator NOPRIN
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