Yusufu Idegu, a correspondent of
The Nation Newspaper, has dismissed reports that he circulated a false story
about Danladi Ciroma, north-central chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle
Breeders’ Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).
Idegu’s report on Ciroma
describing the killings in Plateau as retaliation for 300 rustled cows and loss
of some herders’ lives generated controversy.
Although Ciroma admitted that he
spoke with the reporter, he alleged that he was quoted out of context.
“We talked on phone. Sincerely
speaking, what that boy wrote was not what I told him. We did not speak on
reprisal attacks,” Leadership quoted Ciroma as saying.
The Nigerian media was subjected
to severe criticism, with the presidency accusing it of fuelling tension.
But in a message circulated via a
WhatsApp group on Tuesday, Idegu maintained that Ciroma made the utterances
attributed to him.
Below is the statement (edited
for errors):
PREMIUM TIMES in their apology to
Miyetti Allah last week which went viral, I did comment that they were
unnecessarily in a hurry to conclude their investigation on the denial of
Danladi Ciroma who granted me interview. I still insist that that so-called
investigation is so shallow and strange.
If you read that apology again,
it was alleged that I YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU circulated my story on a WhatsApp page
for colleagues to copy. All of us here in Jos can bear me witness that I don’t
have the habit of sharing my published story in WhatsApp page. By the way, it
is against our rule here that no journalist should paste his story on any of
our three platforms eg, Correspondents platform, NUJ platform and that of Ministry
for information. So, on which reporters platform did I share that story? Can
any of us remind me of any other platform I circulated that controversial
story. I never did.
Again, the fact that Danladi
Ciroma denied his comments and PREMIUM TIMES hurriedly apologized to Miyetti
Allah does not mean Miyetti Allah is right and the media is wrong. Up till now,
I still remain positive and confident that Danladi Ciroma is lying, the fact
that I have no record of the interview does not also make Ciroma right in his
claim. Let us not narrow investigation into media publications to availability
of recording alone, providing the voice recording could be a short-cut to the
investigation, but in the absence of the short-cut, the long-cut alternative
can be explored for thorough investigation. I’m happy my employer, THE NATION
newspaper is doing that at the moment, based on the confidence they have in me,
they are exploring all necessary alternatives to get to the root of it.
As colleagues or as a body of
media practitioners, let us also not be too hasty in condemning any colleague
that finds himself in this saga for the fact that in all disciplines,
professionals can make mistakes at a point in his work no matter your years of
experience. I’m 19 years in journalism, in spite that, I’m not immune to
professional mistakes.
Above all, I still insist I’m not
wrong in this matter, I have no apology for Miyetti Allah or Danladi Ciroma.
Thank you colleagues for taking
your time, remain BLESSED.
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