The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has condemned Thursday’s bombing of the offices of Thisday and other newspapers in Abuja and Kaduna, calling the attack an arrow in the heart of free speech and a move to abridge the rights of Nigerians to news and information.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said nothing in the world can justify such attacks against the media.
”Unfettered flow of information is the lifeblood of any society and a necessary ingredient for a successful democracy, and the media in Nigeria have largely carried out their role in this regard with rare courage and uncommon determination.
”To now seek to scuttle this constitutionally-guaranteed role of the media on the basis of some nebulous justification is totally abhorrent and unacceptable. Any society that stifles the media asphyxiates itself,” it said.
ACN commiserates with Thisday and other Media organizations over the loss of their staffers as well as the senseless destruction of its offices in the dastardly act, and prayed that God will grant repose to the souls of the departed and grant those injured speedy recovery.
The party urged the relevant agencies to work with the various media organizations to provide them (media houses) with adequate security, so they can continue to carry out
their onerous duties without fear of being attacked.
It also urged the media to continue to adhere strictly to the highest professional standards and ensure that they remain above board in carrying out their duties in an increasingly-divided Nigerian society..
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Bombing of Thisday offices arrow in the heart of free speech – ACN