Press Freedom: Constitution Charges Journalists To Publish Facts

[ChannelsTV]

A legal practitioner Mr. Afam Ani who reacted to the arrest of Leadership Newspaper Journalists arrested for publishing a story today said "the constitution of Nigeria guarantees freedom of speech, but the right to free speech also imposes a duty on anybody including the journalist to publish what is true". Speaking on Channels Television's Breakfast Show Sunrise daily, Mr. Ani said  "the dividing line is how to establish what is true and what is false, he said in legal terms if one is accused of writing a false statement the accuser should be able to show that the statement is false". He added that falsification of document is a crime under the laws and it is the duty of the police to investigate those crimes, he said the police can invite anyone for interrogations. According to the law "if you are invited, there is a limited number of hours in which you can be detained and interrogated, if the police exceeds that you have every right to believe that your rights have been infringed upon because you have been detained beyond the provisions of the law then you can enforce your rights". He stated that if the police have not concluded their investigation you can be realized and re-invited again.  

Via: ChannelsTV