Ombudsman begins investigation into FG’s complaint against Daily Trust

The National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC), otherwise known as the Ombudsman, says it has begun an investigation following the receipt of a formal complaint from the Federal Government against the Daily Trust Newspaper.

The government’s complaint borders on a published article on July 4, 2024 allegedly “containing misleading information that severely threatens national security”.

In the complaint, dated July 8, 2024, and signed by Ngozi Onwudiwe, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, on behalf of Mohammed Idris, information and national orientation minister, 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 which it reported 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), 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 described the report as “false and misleading” and said that as a result of the alleged false report, “individuals and government officials have been subjected to hate speech, threats, intimidation, and cyberbullying across social media.”

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It, therefore, asked 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 NMCC to direct the newspaper’s management to publicly retract and correct the alleged false information, with equal prominence as the original article, issue an unequivocal apology for allegedly “disseminating false information, and implement stricter editorial guidelines to prevent a repeat of such alleged unwholesome report by any newspaper in the future.”

The NMCC said it has sent a formal acknowledgment letter dated July 10, 2024 signed by Femi Smith, its interim secretary, to the ministry, informing it that the complaint was receiving the attention of the commission, and that the outcome would be duly communicated to the government.

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It said the management of Daily Trust would be contacted for its response.

“As an independent media regulatory body, it is our duty to promote media adherence to the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct, as well as ensure that the media operate in a free and unfettered environment.

“In accordance with this mandate and our established procedures, we have commenced an investigation into the government’s allegations. We assure the public that our inquiry will be thorough and impartial. We look forward to receiving the full cooperation of all parties involved and pledge to continue to ensure transparency throughout this process,” the commission said in the statement.

The NMCC is an independent, multi-stakeholder co-regulatory body established by the Nigerian Press Organizations (NPO), made up of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in collaboration with the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON).