Akinnola berates Al Jazeera over report on Nigerian media

By Abdulwahab Abdulah

LAGOS – A Lagos-based journalist and human rights activist, Mr. Richard Akinnola, has described as unprofessional, the report aired by Al-Jazeera TV channel on corruption and the Nigeria media, which he said did not represent the true position of things in the country.

In a statement in Lagos, Akinnola, who is the Director of Free Speech Foundation, FSF, said that Al Jazeera TV channel, in a special report on “Nigeria’s Democracy and the Media’ yesterday, was unprofessional in its presentation, as it “portrayed the former Executive Director, publications of The PUNCH, Mr Azu Ishiekwene and Mr Nduka Obaigbena, publisher of THISDAY in bad light as corrupt journalists, who blackmailed public officers for financial gratification.

“Interestingly, Al Jazeera unprofessionally  didn’t balance  the report with an interview with both Messrs Ishiekwene and Obaigbena to hear their own side of the story.

“For example, it is in the public domain that Mr Ishiekwene retired voluntarily from The PUNCH while Obaigbena has not been legally indicted for corrupt practices.”

According to Akinnola, “this report is clearly unprofessional and defamatory. Al Jazeera also need to stop this stereotyping of Nigeria as Muslim North and Southern Christians as if there are no Muslims in the South and Christians in the North.”