Adoke And Ringim Must Stop Chasing Shadows.
Last week the police in a gestapo manner invaded the offices of The Nation newspapers in Lagos and Abuja and arrested some of the newspaper’s editors.
The arrest was said to be at the behest of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke.
The arrest of the editors was in connection with the controversial letter former President Olusegun Obasanjo purportedly wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan requesting that he sacks some incompetent heads of some federal agencies who are mainly Northerners and replace them with Southerners. Though Obasanjo denied that he wrote such a letter and threatened to sue The Nation, the newspaper published the bromide copy of the letter on its front page the following day.
This irked Adoke because of the perceived embarrassment the letter caused the Federal Government and he ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim to get the editors arrested. The police moved in without a warrant of arrest and picked up the editors in a manner reminiscent of the military era where arbitrary arrest of journalists was the norm and violation of human rights was the stock in-trade of the dictators.
If Adoke or Ringim had any axe to grind with The Nation regarding the controversial letter, they should have gone to court rather than employing arbitrary and uncivilised method of seeking the truth of the matter.
The manner the police invaded The Nation was a threat to our democracy and has rightly been condemned by right-thinking Nigerians.
At a time Ringim should be seriously mapping out strategies to address the security challenges facing the nation, he is busy chasing shadows.
If the zeal with which he went after the editors has been applied in dealing with the Boko Haram menace and the unending kidnapping of Nigerians by hoodlums, the nation won’t be in the throes of the security threat we are now witnessing.
With Boko Haram bombs still killing people in Maiduguri and other northern states, Ringim ought to have relocated there to confront the situation or even resigned for failing to provide security for Nigerians.
Rather, he is cowardly chasing journalists under the guise that they are threatening national security.
It is gratifying that the House of Representatives has condemned the action of the police and is seeking to probe that shameful invasion.
The Senate should also probe the incident.
It is shocking that President Goodluck Jonathan allowed Adoke and Ringim to bring his administration into ridicule in the comity of nations. The president should call these men to order before further damage is done to our democracy.
The journalists being hounded fought alongside pro-democracy groups to actualise the democracy Adoke is enjoying.
Never again should this senseless invasion be allowed to happen in our country if not, we will slip into a dictatorship that could consume us all.
Last week the police in a gestapo manner invaded the offices of The Nation newspapers in Lagos and Abuja and arrested some of the newspaper’s editors.
The arrest was said to be at the behest of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke.
The arrest of the editors was in connection with the controversial letter former President Olusegun Obasanjo purportedly wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan requesting that he sacks some incompetent heads of some federal agencies who are mainly Northerners and replace them with Southerners. Though Obasanjo denied that he wrote such a letter and threatened to sue The Nation, the newspaper published the bromide copy of the letter on its front page the following day.
This irked Adoke because of the perceived embarrassment the letter caused the Federal Government and he ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim to get the editors arrested. The police moved in without a warrant of arrest and picked up the editors in a manner reminiscent of the military era where arbitrary arrest of journalists was the norm and violation of human rights was the stock in-trade of the dictators.
If Adoke or Ringim had any axe to grind with The Nation regarding the controversial letter, they should have gone to court rather than employing arbitrary and uncivilised method of seeking the truth of the matter.
The manner the police invaded The Nation was a threat to our democracy and has rightly been condemned by right-thinking Nigerians.
At a time Ringim should be seriously mapping out strategies to address the security challenges facing the nation, he is busy chasing shadows.
If the zeal with which he went after the editors has been applied in dealing with the Boko Haram menace and the unending kidnapping of Nigerians by hoodlums, the nation won’t be in the throes of the security threat we are now witnessing.
With Boko Haram bombs still killing people in Maiduguri and other northern states, Ringim ought to have relocated there to confront the situation or even resigned for failing to provide security for Nigerians.
Rather, he is cowardly chasing journalists under the guise that they are threatening national security.
It is gratifying that the House of Representatives has condemned the action of the police and is seeking to probe that shameful invasion.
The Senate should also probe the incident.
It is shocking that President Goodluck Jonathan allowed Adoke and Ringim to bring his administration into ridicule in the comity of nations. The president should call these men to order before further damage is done to our democracy.
The journalists being hounded fought alongside pro-democracy groups to actualise the democracy Adoke is enjoying.
Never again should this senseless invasion be allowed to happen in our country if not, we will slip into a dictatorship that could consume us all.
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