Man Posing As CNN Correspondent Arrested

[HuffingtonPost]

YENAGOA, Nigeria, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities  have arrested a citizen who posed as a CNN correspondent to try  to get money from politicians in exchange for interviews in  oil-producing Bayelsa state.                

Paul Yempe was rumbled by a member of the local branch of  the national journalists union (NUJ) when he approached the  office of the state's energy commissioner to solicit an  interview for an alleged CNN documentary.                

Tare Akono, state NUJ chairman, said by telephone that he  had handed the man over to the police for further questioning.  Police spokesman Alex Akhigbe confirmed this, but said the case  was still being investigated.                

"Attempts by the fake journalist to affirm his genuineness  led to the discovery of a fake CNN identification card in his  bag," Akono said, adding that he actually worked for a local  station called Radio Rivers.                

A CNN correspondent covering Nigeria confirmed the man was  not working for the cable network.                

Akono said he was suspected of using the ID to persuade  officials to give him money in exchange for positive  documentaries about their work.                

Although very free by the standards of the region, Nigeria's  press is often corrupt, with journalists and editors both taking  backhanders to write favourable stories about their sponsors -  or poisonous ones about their sponsors' enemies.                

Many journalists are paid little, late or not at all and so  rely on cash from the subjects of their reporting just to make  ends meet.

HuffingtonPost