Samoa Agreement: Ombudsman Confirms FG’s Complaint Against Daily Trust

National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC), or the Ombudsman, has received a formal complaint from the federal government against the Daily Trust Newspaper over a report published on July 4, 2024.

The government said the story contained “false and misleading information that severely threatens national security.”.

NMCC disclosed this in a statement signed by its chairman, Eluem Emeka Izeze and interim secretary, Feyi Smith, made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday.

According to the statement in the complaint, dated July 8, 2024, and signed by Dr Ngozi Onwudiwe, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, on behalf of information minister Mohammed Idris, 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.”

The ministry said Daily Trust 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 benefitting nations to support the agitations by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community for recognition.

The statement said the government described the report as “false and misleading”. It 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.”

It said the federal government asked the NMCC to intervene in the matter and, among other things: “Carry out a thorough investigation of the alleged misleading publication.

„Direct the newspaper’s management to publicly retract and correct the alleged false information, with equal prominence as the original article.

“Direct the newspaper’s management to issue an unequivocal apology for allegedly recklessly disseminating false information; and implement stricter editorial guidelines to prevent a repeat of such alleged unwholesome report by any newspaper in the future.”

NMCC said it had sent a formal acknowledgment letter dated July 10, 2024, and signed by its Interim secretary, Feyi Smith, to the ministry, informing it that the complaint is receiving the attention of the commission and that the outcome will be duly communicated to the government. The management of Daily Trust will be contacted shortly 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,“ it added.