(http://www.channelstv.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Minister-of-Information-Labaran-Maku.jpg)Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku today rubbished the claim by an "unknown body" that the Nigeria has turned out to be an unsafe haven for journalists to operate. (http://www.channelstv.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Minister-of-Information-Labaran-Maku-300x179.jpg) (http://www.channelstv.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Minister-of-Information-Labaran-Maku.jpg) The minister said "let me say that the CPJ Report is indeed very difficult to understand" "First of all who are the CPJ people" the minister asked. He also said the organisation lacks an identity as those who are behind the newly formed organisation are not known. He accused opposition politicians of registering Non-Governmental Organisations for political reasons against humanitarian reasons it should be set up for. "I can tell you that there are hundreds of people that have registered NGO's, politicians and they have used it to fight cases against Nigeria in international organisations to pull down the name of the country just because of 2015 elections". He wondered why and how the CPJ would compare Nigeria and Somalia "in terms of press freedom or any kind of freedom at all in recent times". He said the report was a compilation of incidences from the days of military Draco rule to the present administration. Maku who was speaking as a guest on Channels Television's morning flagship programme, Sunrise Daily, however admitted the security challenges currently bedeviling the nation. He recalled that journalists have been killed by members of the Boko Haram sect in Kano and Maiduguri which he said were "gruesome and painful" but not instigated by the state.
Via: ChannelsTV