The Federal Government has debunked the report by the press freedom Organisation, Committee To Protect Journalists, that a certain Nigerian journalist has been in detention for the past two years .
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed , who issued the rebuttal at the Gala / Award Night of the International Press Institute in Abuja on Friday , said the person the CPJ was referring to was never a journalist.
He said, “Let me state here, without equivocating, that contrary to the report by the Committee To Protect Journalists , no journalist is in detention in Nigeria. Clement Abiri, who is being referred to as a journalist , is not one .
“He does not belong to any chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists. He was arrested for pipeline vandalism and crude theft , including militant activities in the Niger Delta. ”
Mohammed restated the commitment of the present administration to press freedom and gave the assurance that the media has nothing to fear under the present dispensation .
He said, “In my opening comments at the 2016 IPI Congress in Doha , I said we as a government view the media as a partner.
“That remains true. I also said the media in Nigeria has nothing to fear from this Administration, and that – if anything – we as a government are the ones who have to fear the media . Also , that has not changed.
”We are proud that the Nigerian media is one of the most vibrant in the world . We are proud of the role that the Nigerian media has played in our long march to democratic governance .
“This administration will continue to provide the enabling environment for the journalist to function unmolested .”
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