The Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja and Lagos branches,
the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Lagos State Council, and some lawyers have
condemned the action of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko,
who on Tuesday ordered a correspondent of The PUNCH, Kunle Falayi, out
of the premises of the police command headquarters in Ikeja.
Some of the lawyers, who spoke separately with
our correspondents on Wednesday, also demanded a public apology from Manko,
describing his action as a constitutional breach.
Manko prevented Falayi from covering a
press briefing addressed by him.
The grouse of the CP was a story published in The
PUNCH on Tuesday titled, ‘Guard shot by policemen in critical condition.’
However, speaking on behalf of the Lagos branch
of the NBA, its Chairman, Mr. Taiwo Taiwo, said the CP’s action smacks of
“arrogance and show of power” characteristic of a military regime.
Taiwo described the action as condemnable and
reminded Manko that Nigeria was no longer in the military era, adding that the
CP ought to know that public institutions were always under public scrutiny in
a democratic setting.
He said, “The action of the Commissioner of
Police shows that he is intolerant of criticism. Even if the reporter was
wrong, as a public officer, he ought to tell the journalist the truth from the
police point of view.
“It smacks of arrogance and show of power to
treat the journalist the way he was treated.
“As a matter of fact, the police command is a
public place and not the personal property of the CP. The CP must be reminded
that we are in a democracy and as such all actions of public officials must be
people-oriented as their actions are always under public scrutiny.”
A human rights lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu,
demanded an apology from Manko and asked the Inspector General of Police,
Muhammed Abubakar, to caution him.
He argued that Manko acted unconstitutionally,
adding that a journalist had a duty to inform the public about “the goings-on
in public institutions such as the Nigeria Police.”
Aturu said, “The decision of the CP to order a
journalist out, in my view, is extremely condemnable. In a civilised country,
such an act is unacceptable.”
Another lawyer and consultant, Mr. Fred Agbaje,
also demanded a public apology from Manko, saying the CP’s action was “wholly
illegal” and amounted to “an unpardonable assault on our constitution.”
He urged Falayi to sue the police boss for
damages for the “embarrassment and assault on him.”
Agbaje said, “The CP should be told in no unmistakable
terms that Nigeria of today is running a democracy with the rule of law,
constitutionalism and respect for the civil/constitutional rights of the
citizens, including, but not limited to the right to gather and garner
information (except as constitutionally permissible derogations in Section 45
of the same constitution) as the underlining factors.
“Anything short of the limitations as contained
in Section 45 of the constitution including the conduct of the CP is wholly
illegal and an unpardonable assault on our constitution.”
He advised the CP to invest his energy on
combating the high crime in the state “rather than wasting his time running
after a hapless citizen doing his lawful job, particularly as it relates to
stories on which the police PRO department has made its contribution.”
A lawyer and activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, who
expressed shock over the development, lampooned the CP for trying to “gag the
truth.”
He also called for an investigation into the
activities of the Lagos State Police Command, which in his view; probably has
“a skeleton in its cupboard.”
He said, “It is totally a condemnable act, meant
purely to intimidate the press and gag the truth. Against the backdrop of the
Freedom of Information Act, it is never expected that any public officer, least
of all, the one saddled with the prevention and detection of crime, will try to
hide his activities from the public.
“I therefore urge the Nigerian Union of
Journalists and indeed the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the
activities of the Lagos State Police Command, in order to unravel all skeletons
that may still be hiding in the cupboards of the Command. We cannot afford a
police formation that is totally anti-people.”
He said the office of the CP is a public place
which every citizen must have an unhindered access to, adding that public
officers ought to accord necessary respect and dignity to every Nigerian as
stipulated in Section 34 of the constitution.
PUNCH Metro had on Monday and Tuesday
reported that a banker, Femi Badejo, and a security guard, Joshua Musa, were
shot by policemen who had responded to a distress call, to foil a robbery at
the victims’ home in Ikota, Lagos on Saturday.
It was reported that when the policemen got to
the house one hour after the robbery, they opened fire indiscriminately on the
residents, injuring two of them.
Also, the Chairman, NBA Ikeja branch, Mr. Monday
Ubani, and the General Secretary, Mr. Adereti Adegbite, said Manko’s action was
“unguarded” and “in bad taste.”
Ubani said, “Walking out a journalist who has
come to cover a news conference called at the CP’s instance is clearly in bad
taste. No one should behave in a way that shows that he or she has something to
hide.”
On his part, Adegbite said the office of the
Commissioner of Police demands the highest sense of “responsibility, maturity
and professionalism,” adding that Manko’s action was uncalled for.
He said, “If the Command felt aggrieved because
of a news story, there are ways of putting things in proper perspective and
that is why there is an office of the Police Public Relations Officer.
“That office should have liaised with the media
house in question and forwarded a rejoinder with concrete evidence, or better
still, address a news conference on it.
“I hope the Inspector-General of Police (Muhammed
Abubakar) would give proper directive to the CP on the proper mode to address
this situation when such issues crop up again.”
Adegbite urged journalists to remain undaunted in
their quest to make the public aware of the ills in the Nigerian society.
The Chairman of NUJ in the state, Mr. Deji
Elumoye, said the CP “played God” by ordering the journalist out.
He said, “The CP in actual fact over reacted by
sending out a journalist from a press conference and that singular action is
unwarranted and unbecoming of a senior police officer.
“We take an exception to this action. We see it
as an infringement on the freedom of expression and movement. We are currently
seeking legal opinion of our lawyers in order to take a proper action against
the CP and seek redress.”
Elumoye explained that the CP should have
expended time and energy in ensuring the security of lives and property in the
state rather than descend so low and act in such a despicable manner.
He said, “In the last two weeks, there has been
an upsurge in armed robbery and even some of his men were killed over the
weekend. Instead of addressing such security challenges, he is preventing a
journalist from carrying out his constitutional duties.”
The Punch
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