The management of Media Trust Limited publishers of Daily Trust says it will hold the former aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode responsible if its reporter is harmed.
Mr Fani-Kayode appeared in a video on Tuesday verbally assaulting a reporter Charles Eyo who asked the ex-minister if his recent tour around the country was being ‘bankrolled’ at a press conference in Calabar, Cross River State last week.
In a statement, the executive director/editor-in-chief of Daily Trust Naziru Abubakar said the attack on the reporter who was doing his job “is an indication of the chilling disregard he has towards the media, and its work in investigating and reporting on issues”.
The newspaper said Fani-Kayode’s “reprehensible actions” raises major concerns over the safety of journalists in Nigeria, calling on the police to take note of the ex-minister’s action.
“The encounter occurred in Calabar, Cross River State, in the morning of Thursday 20, August 2020 at a hotel, during a roundtable with invited journalists,” the organisation said.
“During the roundtable, Charles asked Fani-Kayode who was bankrolling his recent trips around Nigeria, to which the ex-minister responded with a raised voice, insults, and eventually a threat to inflict bodily harm on our reporter.
“The barrage continued for some minutes, while bewildered journalists, including our reporter, looked on.
“The video clip, also released on one of the ex-ministers social media accounts, was conveniently edited to exclude the question asked by Charles, totally devoid of mischief, simply sought clarification and information, like good journalism should.
“Said editing paved the way for a social media lynch mob to rain expletives on our reporter, labelling him as ‘rude’.
“This could not be further away from the truth, and we stand by Charles, and commend him for his calmness during the ordeal.
“Daily Trust reporters are responsible professionals, who uphold the tenets of journalism, as well as best practices.
“As always, we stand in solidarity with our reporters and will continue to fight for the rights of all journalists. After all, journalism is part of the bedrock of democracy; therefore practitioners must not be intimidated or threatened as they carry out their work.
“We urge the Nigeria Police to take note, that if anything happens to Charles, Daily Trust will hold Fani-Kayode responsible, especially due to the intensity of the verbal threats he issued during the shocking incident.”
Eyo in a statement also explained that he was threatened by a security agent attached to the former minister and had to “sneak” out of the place.
“When he (Fani-Kayode) returned to his suite, he sent one of his security aides to further threaten me. The man accosted me, saying ‘What effrontery do you have to ask such a stupid question?’ and what was my next action.
“Sensing how tense the atmosphere was, I said to the man, ‘I had apologised to the ex-minister. If the usage of the word ‘bankroll’ was offensive to him, then I withdraw it. What more should I do?’ I then sneaked away,” he said.
