The
Federal Government will not do anything to stifle press freedom,
because it is keenly aware that a free press is vital to the success of
any democracy, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, has said.
In a
statement in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister said the federal government
has nothing to do with the recent arrest of Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi,
Publisher of the online newspaper Premium Times, and a reporter working
for the paper, Ms. Evelyn Okakwu.
He said the
whole issue of the journalists' arrest is purely a private affair
involving a citizen and a privately-owned newspaper, and wondered how
that could now be construed as an attempt by the government to
intimidate the press.
''We have said it before
and we want to re-state it: The Federal Government has no immediate or
long-term plan to stifle press freedom. Even the Social Media, with its
warts and all, will neither be regulated nor have its operations
tampered with,'' Alhaji Mohammed assured Nigerians.
Segun Adeyemi
SA To Hon. Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja
24 Jan 2017
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