(MRA/IFEX) – On 15 May 2006, there was temporary disruption of the broadcast of radio and television signals at the Abuja offices of Daar Communications Limited, owners of Ray Power FM and the Africa Independent Television (AIT), following a bomb scare which led to the evacuation of journalists and workers from the premises. The bomb […]
(MRA/IFEX) – On 15 May 2006, there was temporary disruption of the broadcast of radio and television signals at the Abuja offices of Daar Communications Limited, owners of Ray Power FM and the Africa Independent Television (AIT), following a bomb scare which led to the evacuation of journalists and workers from the premises.
The bomb scare came less than 24 hours after men suspected to be officers of the State Security Service (SSS) invaded the office, disrupted broadcast operations and seized the master tape of a documentary film being aired by the television station (see IFEX alert of 15 May 2006).
AIT, Nigeria’s oldest and largest privately owned television network, has been under intense pressure for several days since it began live broadcasts of debates at the National Assembly on a Bill to amend the 1999 Nigerian Constitution to, among other things, allow President Olusegun Obasanjo run for a third term in office. The live broadcasts are believed to be making it impossible for the president’s allies to manipulate the outcome of the debates, as it is evident from the broadcasts that most members of the National Assembly do not support the proposal to elongate the tenure of the president.
On 14 May, security agents from the SSS raided the Abuja office of AIT and seized the master tape of a documentary film which the station had been airing, tracing failed attempts by previous Nigerian leaders to perpetuate themselves in office. The security agents ordered the station to discontinue the broadcast of the documentary.
An official of Daar Communications said the media house had received phone calls from “highly placed” Nigerians informing them there were plans to use some foreign intelligence agents to bomb AIT on 15 May.
The management of the organization lodged a formal complaint with the Commissioner of Police of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Lawrence Alobi, who dispatched a team of armed mobile policemen to the station’s premises. The media house also arranged for the policemen to guard the station’s broadcast crew on the premises of the National Assembly, also in Abuja.
The chairman of the organization, Raymond Dokpesi, also said he had been receiving telephone calls threatening him and the station over the continued live broadcast of the debates on constitutional amendments at the National Assembly.
According to him, men suspected to be security operatives visited the offices of Daar Communications again on 15 May insisting that the station should discontinue its broadcast of the documentary while also ordering the AIT to stop live coverage of the debates.
However, Dokpesi said the station would not discontinue the live broadcast.
