Terrorism reporting: Gumi condemns Nigerian government's decision to sanction BBC, Daily Trust
Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi has condemned the Nigerian government for its threat to sanction the BBC and Trust Television for publishing interviews with terrorists operating in Nigeria's troubled north-west region.
>Information Minister Lai Muhammad said on Thursday the government would sanction the BBC and Trust TV for airing documentaries he said glorified terrorism in Nigeria.
Calling the BBC documentary "unprofessional", he said it was giving warlords and terror gangs a chance to promote terror.
He condemned the BBC for failing to uphold the same standards and principles as it would have in the UK.
The Minister also condemned Trust TV, owned by Media Trust Ltd, for interviewing a terrorist, Shehu Rekeb.
Mr. Gumi, in a statement by his spokesperson, Tukur Mamu, said the BBC documentary reveals the politics of insecurity, the genesis of the crisis and how terrorists invaded several communities in the North West region. .
The cleric praised local and international media like the BBC and the Daily Trust for their courageous reporting on the insecurity in the region.
He said news agencies exposed the Nigerian government's flawed approach to dealing with the crisis and how it has become a lucrative business for criminals and some government officials.
"The federal government's attempt to try to find a scapegoat to justify its egregious failure after wasting over $16 billion over the past 7 years with no commensurate results on security and efforts to blackmail some media for their patriotism in covering the crisis is unfortunate and should be fought by all responsible media organizations,” Mr. Gumi said.
"The BBC Africa Eye documentary reflects real events in Zamfara State and says it has been 'professionally produced with the highest ethical standards' which seeks solutions against the constant attacks on vulnerable communities and wonders why the government won't use such an independent discovery to resolutely tackle the crisis.
“The opinion of some media officials regarding the BBC report and the claim that the BBC and others like the Daily Trust give undue publicity to bandits and their activities or promote terrorism is unfortunate, myopic and mischievous.
"FG is trying to blackmail the media to cover up its failure and divert public attention to high-level corruption in military spending and budget allocations."
Mr. Gumi urged the media not to be bullied or succumb to official blackmail and to always hold the government accountable, especially given the failure to protect lives and property despite the billions at their disposal.
>“What is happening in Nigeria today, especially in the North West, as the BBC clearly shows, is more of an ethnic war and of reprisals, killings and attacks due to the failure of the government to address well-documented cases of injustices that were initially committed against the Fulani.
"What do you expect from a (Fulani) society that has been left in utter ignorance and lack of education, especially when its main source of livelihood (livestock) has been completely stolen by d other criminal elements inside and outside our security agencies without any efforts by the government to address the injustice.
"As I speak to you, cattle theft has not ceased. Many law-abiding Fulani have been victims of official extortion of their cows. I have well-documented evidence implicating agents of security with which I intervened. How do you expect as a government to fight against insecurity linked in particular to Fulani bandits without tackling such cases of extortion and theft?".
"The scary development now is that the Boko Haram terrorists have infiltrated the Fulani bandits and the bandits are gradually being indoctrinated into their religious belief and mission (Boko Haram).
Instead of the government trying to scapegoat the media or blackmail the media, “President Buhari should hold his security chiefs fully accountable for any failures and account for the billions of naira at their disposal .< /p>
"When a commander-in-chief rewards failure with ambassadorial appointments in a system and society that...
Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi has condemned the Nigerian government for its threat to sanction the BBC and Trust Television for publishing interviews with terrorists operating in Nigeria's troubled north-west region.
>Information Minister Lai Muhammad said on Thursday the government would sanction the BBC and Trust TV for airing documentaries he said glorified terrorism in Nigeria.
Calling the BBC documentary "unprofessional", he said it was giving warlords and terror gangs a chance to promote terror.
He condemned the BBC for failing to uphold the same standards and principles as it would have in the UK.
The Minister also condemned Trust TV, owned by Media Trust Ltd, for interviewing a terrorist, Shehu Rekeb.
Mr. Gumi, in a statement by his spokesperson, Tukur Mamu, said the BBC documentary reveals the politics of insecurity, the genesis of the crisis and how terrorists invaded several communities in the North West region. .
The cleric praised local and international media like the BBC and the Daily Trust for their courageous reporting on the insecurity in the region.
He said news agencies exposed the Nigerian government's flawed approach to dealing with the crisis and how it has become a lucrative business for criminals and some government officials.
"The federal government's attempt to try to find a scapegoat to justify its egregious failure after wasting over $16 billion over the past 7 years with no commensurate results on security and efforts to blackmail some media for their patriotism in covering the crisis is unfortunate and should be fought by all responsible media organizations,” Mr. Gumi said.
"The BBC Africa Eye documentary reflects real events in Zamfara State and says it has been 'professionally produced with the highest ethical standards' which seeks solutions against the constant attacks on vulnerable communities and wonders why the government won't use such an independent discovery to resolutely tackle the crisis.
“The opinion of some media officials regarding the BBC report and the claim that the BBC and others like the Daily Trust give undue publicity to bandits and their activities or promote terrorism is unfortunate, myopic and mischievous.
"FG is trying to blackmail the media to cover up its failure and divert public attention to high-level corruption in military spending and budget allocations."
Mr. Gumi urged the media not to be bullied or succumb to official blackmail and to always hold the government accountable, especially given the failure to protect lives and property despite the billions at their disposal.
>“What is happening in Nigeria today, especially in the North West, as the BBC clearly shows, is more of an ethnic war and of reprisals, killings and attacks due to the failure of the government to address well-documented cases of injustices that were initially committed against the Fulani.
"What do you expect from a (Fulani) society that has been left in utter ignorance and lack of education, especially when its main source of livelihood (livestock) has been completely stolen by d other criminal elements inside and outside our security agencies without any efforts by the government to address the injustice.
"As I speak to you, cattle theft has not ceased. Many law-abiding Fulani have been victims of official extortion of their cows. I have well-documented evidence implicating agents of security with which I intervened. How do you expect as a government to fight against insecurity linked in particular to Fulani bandits without tackling such cases of extortion and theft?".
"The scary development now is that the Boko Haram terrorists have infiltrated the Fulani bandits and the bandits are gradually being indoctrinated into their religious belief and mission (Boko Haram).
Instead of the government trying to scapegoat the media or blackmail the media, “President Buhari should hold his security chiefs fully accountable for any failures and account for the billions of naira at their disposal .< /p>
"When a commander-in-chief rewards failure with ambassadorial appointments in a system and society that...
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