The National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC) yesterday confirmed the receipt of the Federal Government’s complaints against Daily Trust Newspapers over its story on the Samoa agreement.
Acknowledging the receipt in statement, the NMCC (Ombudsman) said it has launched investigation into the matter.
The statement, signed by NMCC Chairman Emeka Izeze and interim secretary and Feyi Smith, said that the federal government’s complaint, dated July 8, was signed by Dr. Ngozi Onwudiwe, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, on behalf of the minister, Mohammed Idris.
The government, according to the statement, alleged that on July 4 2024, the newspaper published an article “containing false and misleading information that severely threatens national security”.
The statement said that in the complaint, the government alleged that “on July 4, 2024 the newspaper published on its front page, a news item titled ‘LGBT: Nigeria Signs $150 Billion Samoa Deal.
“In the report, it said that the government had endorsed a European Union (EU) partnership agreement (referred to as the “Samoa Agreement”), with member states of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS).
It said that the agreement was signed “despite some conditional clauses that compel benefiting nations to support the agitations by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community for recognition”.
The government, according to the statement, described the report as “false and misleading”.
It quoted the government as saying that, as a result of the alleged false report, “individuals and government officials have been subjected to hate speech, threats, intimidation, and cyber-bullying across social media”.
According to the statement, the government is, therefore, asking the NMCC to intervene in the matter and, among other things, carry out a thorough investigation of the alleged misleading publication.
It also urged the Ombudsman to direct the newspaper’s management to publicly retract and correct the alleged false information, with equal prominence as the original article.
It also urged the NMCC to direct the newspaper’s management to issue an unequivocal apology for “allegedly recklessly disseminating false information and implement stricter editorial guidelines to prevent a repeat of such alleged unwholesome report by any newspaper in the future”.