The Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja
and Lagos branches, the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Lagos State Council, and
some lawyers have condemned the action of the Lagos State Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Umar Manko, who on Tuesday ordered a correspondent of The PUNCH, Kunle Falayi, out of the
premises of the police command headquarters in Ikeja.
Some of the lawyers, who spoke
separately with our correspondents on Wednesday, also demanded a public apology
from Manko, describing his action as a constitutional breach.
Manko prevented Falayi from
covering a press briefing addressed by him.
The grouse of the CP was a story
published in The PUNCH on Tuesday titled, ‘Guard shot
by policemen in critical condition.’
However, speaking on behalf of the
Lagos branch of the NBA, its Chairman, Mr. Taiwo Taiwo, said the CP’s action
smacks of “arrogance and show of power” characteristic of a military regime.
Taiwo described the action as
condemnable and reminded Manko that Nigeria was no longer in the military era,
adding that the CP ought to know that public institutions were always under
public scrutiny in a democratic setting.
He said, “The action of the
Commissioner of Police shows that he is intolerant of criticism. Even if the
reporter was wrong, as a public officer, he ought to tell the journalist the
truth from the police point of view.
“It smacks of arrogance and show of
power to treat the journalist the way he was treated.
“As a matter of fact, the police
command is a public place and not the personal property of the CP. The CP must
be reminded that we are in a democracy and as such all actions of public
officials must be people-oriented as their actions are always under public
scrutiny.”
A human rights lawyer, Mr. Bamidele
Aturu, demanded an apology from Manko and asked the Inspector General of
Police, Muhammed Abubakar, to caution him.
He argued that Manko acted
unconstitutionally, adding that a journalist had a duty to inform the public about
“the goings-on in public institutions such as the Nigeria Police.”
Aturu said, “The decision of the CP
to order a journalist out, in my view, is extremely condemnable. In a civilised
country, such an act is unacceptable.”
Another lawyer and consultant, Mr.
Fred Agbaje, also demanded a public apology from Manko, saying the CP’s action
was “wholly illegal” and amounted to “an unpardonable assault on our
constitution.”
He urged Falayi to sue the police
boss for damages for the “embarrassment and assault on him.”
Agbaje said, “The CP should be told
in no unmistakable terms that Nigeria of today is running a democracy with the
rule of law, constitutionalism and respect for the civil/constitutional rights
of the citizens, including, but not limited to the right to gather and garner
information (except as constitutionally permissible derogations in Section 45
of the same constitution) as the underlining factors.
“Anything short of the limitations as
contained in Section 45 of the constitution including the conduct of the CP is
wholly illegal and an unpardonable assault on our constitution.”
He advised the CP to invest his
energy on combating the high crime in the state “rather than wasting his time
running after a hapless citizen doing his lawful job, particularly as it
relates to stories on which the police PRO department has made its
contribution.”
A lawyer and activist, Ebun-Olu
Adegboruwa, who expressed shock over the development, lampooned the CP for
trying to “gag the truth.”
He also called for an investigation
into the activities of the Lagos State Police Command, which in his view;
probably has “a skeleton in its cupboard.”
He said, “It is totally a condemnable
act, meant purely to intimidate the press and gag the truth. Against the
backdrop of the Freedom of Information Act, it is never expected that any
public officer, least of all, the one saddled with the prevention and detection
of crime, will try to hide his activities from the public.
“I therefore urge the Nigerian Union
of Journalists and indeed the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the
activities of the Lagos State Police Command, in order to unravel all skeletons
that may still be hiding in the cupboards of the Command. We cannot afford a
police formation that is totally anti-people.”
He said the office of the CP is a
public place which every citizen must have an unhindered access to, adding that
public officers ought to accord necessary respect and dignity to every Nigerian
as stipulated in Section 34 of the constitution.
PUNCH Metro had on Monday and Tuesday reported that a banker, Femi
Badejo, and a security guard, Joshua Musa, were shot by policemen who had
responded to a distress call, to foil a robbery at the victims’ home in Ikota,
Lagos on Saturday.
It was reported that when the
policemen got to the house one hour after the robbery, they opened fire
indiscriminately on the residents, injuring two of them.
Also, the Chairman, NBA Ikeja branch,
Mr. Monday Ubani, and the General Secretary, Mr. Adereti Adegbite, said Manko’s
action was “unguarded” and “in bad taste.”
Ubani said, “Walking out a journalist
who has come to cover a news conference called at the CP’s instance is clearly
in bad taste. No one should behave in a way that shows that he or she has
something to hide.”
On his part, Adegbite said the office
of the Commissioner of Police demands the highest sense of “responsibility,
maturity and professionalism,” adding that Manko’s action was uncalled for.
He said, “If the Command felt
aggrieved because of a news story, there are ways of putting things in proper
perspective and that is why there is an office of the Police Public Relations
Officer.
“That office should have liaised with
the media house in question and forwarded a rejoinder with concrete evidence,
or better still, address a news conference on it.
“I hope the Inspector-General of
Police (Muhammed Abubakar) would give proper directive to the CP on the proper
mode to address this situation when such issues crop up again.”
Adegbite urged journalists to remain
undaunted in their quest to make the public aware of the ills in the Nigerian
society.
The Chairman of NUJ in the state, Mr.
Deji Elumoye, said the CP “played God” by ordering the journalist out.
He said, “The CP in actual fact over
reacted by sending out a journalist from a press conference and that singular
action is unwarranted and unbecoming of a senior police officer.
“We take an exception to this action.
We see it as an infringement on the freedom of expression and movement. We are
currently seeking legal opinion of our lawyers in order to take a proper action
against the CP and seek redress.”
Elumoye explained that the CP should
have expended time and energy in ensuring the security of lives and property in
the state rather than descend so low and act in such a despicable manner.
He said, “In the last two weeks,
there has been an upsurge in armed robbery and even some of his men were killed
over the weekend. Instead of addressing such security challenges, he is
preventing a journalist from carrying out his constitutional duties.”