The National Media Complaints Commission, NMCC, referred to as the Ombudsman, has commenced investigation into the petition by the federal government against Daily Trust newspapers over its front page story with the headline, “LGBT: Nigeria signs $150 billion Samoa deal.”
The ombudsman made this known on Monday in a press statement signed by its chairman, Mr. Eluem Emeka Izeze, and interim secretary, Mr. Feyi Smith.
FrontPage reports that the federal government alleged that the news story published on July 4, 2024 contains “false and misleading information that severely threatens national security.”
The petition dated July 8, 2024 is signed by Dr. Ngozi Onwudiwe, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, on behalf of Information Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Idris.
The federal government claimed that the newspaper, in the news story, indicated that the government endorsed a European Union (EU) partnership agreement (referred to as the “Samoa Agreement”) with member states of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), despite some conditional clauses that compel benefitting nations to support the agitations by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community for recognition.
The ombudsman said the federal government hinged its petition on the allegation that the “false and misleading” information had subjected individuals and government officials to “hate speech, threats, intimidation, and cyberbullying across social media.”
The government said following the attacks the report had caused, the federal government considered the intervention of the NMCC necessary.
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It therefore sought the NMCC to, among other things, carry out a thorough investigation of the alleged misleading publication; direct the newspaper’s management to publicly retract and correct the alleged false information, with equal prominence as the original article, and direct the newspaper’s management to issue an unequivocal apology for allegedly recklessly disseminating false information.
In addition, the federal government sought the ombudsman to “implement stricter editorial guidelines to prevent a repeat of such alleged unwholesome reports by any newspaper in the future.”
The NMCC following the petition, said it had sent a formal acknowledgement letter dated July 10, 2024 and signed by its Interim Secretary, Mr. Feyi Smith, to the ministry, informing it that the complaint was receiving the attention of the Commission, and that the outcome would be duly communicated to the government.
It stated that the management of Daily Trust would be contacted shortly for its response in the course of the investigation.
The NMCC added that “as an independent media regulatory body, it is our duty to promote media adherence to the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct, as well as ensure that the media operate in a free and unfettered environment.”
It assured members of the public that “with this mandate and our established procedures, we have commenced an investigation into the government’s allegations. We assure the public that our inquiry will be thorough and impartial. We look forward to receiving the full cooperation of all parties involved and pledge to continue to ensure transparency throughout this process.”
