Media Trust Limited, the publishers Daily Trust said on Tuesday that its Cross River State, correspondent, Eyo Charles, did nothing wrong that could have justified former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode’s, insults on him.
The video clip of the incident which occurred in Calabar last Thursday, has gone viral on social media.
In the video, an angry Fani-Kayode called the journalist stupid and accused him of being sponsored by his political enemies to come and insult him.
The reporter’s crime had been trying to find out who was sponsoring the former minister’s nationwide tour to assess state government projects.
Fani-Kayode threatened the reporter that he would call his employers to sack him.
In a statement on Tuesday, however, Media Trust Limited, condemned Mr. Fani-Kayode’s action.
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The statement signed by the editor-in-chief of the Newspaper, ,Naziru Abubakar, read in part: “We stand by Charles, and commend him for his calmness during the ordeal.
“Daily Trust reporters are responsible professionals, who uphold the tenets of journalism, as well as best practices.
“That Fani-Kayode attacks a reporter doing his job, is an indication of the chilling disregard he has towards the media, and its work in investigating and reporting on issues.
“As always, we stand in solidarity with our reporters, and will continue to fight for the rights of all journalists. After all, journalism is part of the bedrock of democracy; therefore practitioners must not be intimidated or threatened as they carry out their work.
“We urge the Nigeria Police to take note, that if anything happens to Charles, Daily Trust will hold Fani-Kayode responsible, especially due to the intensity of the verbal threats he issued during the shocking incident.
“The actions of Fani-Kayode are not only reprehensible, but also constitute a setback to press freedom, in a most dire form. This kind of assault raises major concerns over the safety of journalists in Nigeria.”
