The federal government has resolved to sue Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust Newspapers over a “misleading” report on the Somoa agreement.
TheHintsNews reports that on Thursday, Daily Trust reported concerns by sections of the Nigerian religious and civil society communities over clauses that mandate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights in the $150 billion Samoa Agreement signed by the Nigerian government on 28 June.
Checks revealed that contrary to the report, there were no LGBT clauses in the new Samoa Agreement recently signed by Nigeria.
However, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, while addressing a press conference on Saturday in Abuja said the current administration has maintained an open arm relationship with the media.
He noted that the administration has also remained very tolerant of media criticism and guaranteed citizens’ rights to freedom of expression.
The minister noted that it was disheartening that some elements are abusing this free environment guaranteed by the government.
Idris stressed that the government was alarmed by the level of reckless reporting and statements by some media organisations and individuals that border on national security and stability.
He pointed out that while the federal government sometimes viewed and treated those occasional reporting as part of media’s normal work, they have now seen a pattern that is difficult to be wished away as normal journalism.
Idris stated: “In the aftermath of the coup in Niger Republic, Daily Trust championed a jaundiced narrative that the federal government was driving the country into a war and twisted it with regional sentiment to cause disaffection.
“The same newspaper gave a banner headline to a baseless accusation that the government was working on citing foreign military bases in the country. Neither Daily Trust nor originators of that imaginative allegation provided any shred of evidence.
“Then just two weeks ago, Daily Trust concocted and popularised a lie that the federal government had renamed the Murtala Mohammed Expressway in Abuja to Wole Soyinka Way. In all those instances all that the paper depended on were falsehood and hearsays. They also showed no remorse or the humility to recant.
“We however did not envisage that Daily Trust and people behind it could descend to the reckless level of attempting to set the country on fire by falsely accusing the government of signing a deal to promote LGBTQ.
“We found that despicable and wicked because the allegation is nowhere in the document signed. Surprisingly, the paper put forward no evidence nor provided the agreement allegedly signed to prove their point.”
The minister added that the baseless and sensational story unfortunately formed a basis for khutba (sermons) by some of imams who were misled by the story thereby raising tempers.
To this end, Idris noted that the federal government was lodging a formal complaint to the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) Ombudsman.
“In addition, the federal government will use every lawful means to seek redress in the court of law. The federal government once again restates its friendly policy towards ethical media and free speech,” the minister said.