Atiku Tackles FG Over Fresh Attempt To “Gag Media In Nigeria’
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has faulted an alleged fresh attempt by the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to muzzle press freedom in the country.
Atiku was reacting to the allegation of “coordinated disruption of service” levelled against the Federal Government by an online news website, the Peoples Gazette.
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The medium had accused the Buhari administration of ordering telecommunications companies in Nigeria to block subscribers from accessing its website.
“This disruption, we are increasingly learning from top federal sources, was based on a directive, from the Nigerian government to MTN, Glo Mobile and other telecom firms, that sought an immediate blacklist of our web address as well as all other alternative domain names,” read a statement signed by Peoples Gazette’s Managing Editor, Samuel Ogundipe.
The website alleged that the government clamped down on its online assets for, “bringing to public awareness, the rot that exists in our public and private institutions.”
Reacting in a series of tweets on Thursday, Atiku said the “technical censorship” of the news platform by “agents of the Federal Government of Nigeria” was not acceptable.
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He wrote: “Press freedom is not only a constitutionally guaranteed right but an integral component of democracy.
“The battle for the democracy that Nigeria enjoys today was fought and won with the Nigerian media standing in the frontline against anti-democratic forces. Sadly today, it seems as though our victory 22 years ago was half-won as there still exists oppressive tendencies of the past.
“As a Democrat and believer in press freedom, I denounce every attempt to gag the media in Nigeria. I do so because I know that our democracy is benchmarked on the principle of a republican government and that the people of Nigeria deserve to have access to information about the workings of the government.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which is in charge of regulating telecoms companies, and the network providers have yet to respond to the allegations levelled against them by the newspaper.
