The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has voiced its disapproval over the moves by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) to seal Sun Newspaper office in Lagos.
Recall that Igbere TV had reported that armed policemen and officials of the EFCC, on Saturday, stormed The Sun Lagos headquarters, marking the building “EFCC, keep off”.
The Sun faulted the claim by EFCC, saying the newspaper was not a party to the case of EFCC vs. Orji Kalu & 2 others, wondering why its premises should then be marked.
The EFCC said it will enforce a court judgement which ordered for the seizure of property belonging to Senator Orji Uzor Kalu who was convicted of fraud.
A statement made available to IgbereTV from the NUJ National Secretary, Shuaibu Usman Leman, reads, “While we appreciate the efforts of EFCC at fighting corruption in the country but we hasten to caution that any attempt to throw Journalists out of work for whatever reason in such a hasty manner is not good for democracy.
“The media as pivots to good governance and democracy must be allowed to flourish unhindered. We therefore urge for restraint in this regard to allow for the appeal filed to be determined first before any decision is taken.
“We are afraid that moving hurriedly to seal off The Sun may be misconstrued as politically motivated. This action regrettably is being taken without any consideration to the essence of preserving vibrant and virile journalism at this time when the profession is facing increasing challenges.
“We need to preserve the jobs of the media workers in The Sun Newspapers by being circumspect and prudent in this respect”, he ended.
