The National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC), also known as the Ombudsman, has asked Daily Trust to apologise to the Federal Government over the ‘inaccurate’ report the newspaper published on the Samoa Agreement.
The Ombudsman gave the ruling in the report it released following Monday released after investigation into a complaint the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation made against the newspaper.
The 19-page report said it scrutinised the complaint of the government, and the response of the newspaper, it found the Daily Trust news complained about as “inaccurate”.
In its ruling, the Ombudsman found that the article complained about was inaccurate, and that it violated Article 2.1 of the Revised Code of Journalism Ethics, 2022.
It, therefore, directed Daily Trust to issue an apology in both its print and online editions, and that it should take internal editorial steps to prevent future occurrence
But the Ombudsman said the FG did not handle the issues in the Samoa Agreement it signed effectively, adding that the FG failed to demonstrate “greater openness, transparency and accountability” in dealing with matters relating to the deal.
“The attendant conjectures and speculations about the content of the Samoa Agreement could have been avoided,” the report said, just as it asked the newspaper to for the inaccuracies in its report on the Samoa Agreement.
The NMCC is headed by Emeka Izeze, former Managing Director of The Guardian, with a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr A. B. Mahmoud (SAN); a Deputy Vice Chancellor of Paul University, Awka, Anambra State, Prof. Chinyere Stella Okunna; the Editor-in-Chief of Diamond Publication, Mr Lanre Idowu; and the Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Mr Edetaen Ojo serving as members.
Others are Mrs. Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo, a journalist, lawyer and arbitrator; Mrs. Eugenia Abu, broadcaster, author, columnist and former Executive Director, Programmes at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); and Dr. Hussain Abdu, the Country Director of Care International (Nigeria).
According to the NMCC, Daily Trust did not meet journalistic standards as stipulated in the 2022 Revised Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists, adding that Its news complained about, carried on July 4, 2024, was inaccurate, especially in suggesting that the Samoa Agreement contained provisions relating to the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) rights.
The Permanent Secretary of the Information Ministry Dr Ngozi Onwudiwe, submitted the government’s original complaint, where she said the report threatened national security.
