Press Release:EVICTION OF JOURNALISTS: A WRONG SIGNAL 7th June 2007
Journalists at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) office in Abuja were evicted from their office on Wednesday 6th June 2007 by the Federal Capital Territory authorities.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is deeply worried by this ugly development. Such forceful ejection sends a negative signal to civil society and the rest of the citizenry. The press as the Fourth Estate of the Realm should enjoy certain priviledges and rights similar or very close to those enjoyed by the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. The press is the bulwark of democracy and any threat to its existence is indeed an act of hostility against the people.
MURIC calls on the FCT authorities not only to apologise to the NUJ but also to facilitate the construction of a befitting edifice for the NUJ national secretariat at the earliest possible time. We appeal to the Federal Government to come to the rescue of NUJ as an act of goodwill and in recognition of the body as a partner in the vital project of nation building.
