…… as Channels delete false report on a court ruling
As Channels Television deleted a post where it claimed that the Federal
High Court in Benin City had granted an order restraining the APC and
its National Chairman from conducting the party’s internal primary after
its earlier report was debunked by court officials and legal
representatives as false and misleading, journalists have been told to
be wary of how they report the All Progressives Congress primaries and
governorship election.
The proceeding, according to official court records, ended with the
court ordering the maintenance of status quo after it refused appeals by
the legal representatives of Governor Godwin Obaseki and his loyalists
who filed the injunction to grant the interim restraining order.
The judge, acknowledging the urgency and sensitivity of the matter, set
Thursday, June 11 as the date for a full hearing before a verdict can be
delivered on the matter.
Reacting to the development, Prince John Mayaki, the Director of
Communication and Media, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organization
said: “The error from otherwise thorough Channels TV is another reminder
that media organizations must be careful in its reporting of issues
surrounding the conduct of the APC primary and Governorship election in
Edo State.”
“For long, we have raised alarm on the formation of a propaganda unit by
the embattled Governor, Mr. Governor Godwin Obaseki, where fake news and
other misleading reports are manufactured and strategically distributed
across the internet and forwarded to journalists with the intention of
presenting a false representation of things.”
“To avoid being caught in the web of the Governor’s destructive and
unprincipled politics, we are repeating our advice to media bodies and
journalists to be careful in their management of any information from
the Governor’s camp and ensure proper checks before publishing.”
“As court records show, Governor Obaseki failed today again at the
Federal High Court in Benin. His interim injunction seeking to restrain
the APC from conducting its primary because he is afraid of losing was
refused by the court and a status quo was ordered. The court has said
all sides involved should come and present their arguments on Thursday,
June 11, and as people backed by the truth and legal facts, we
confidently anticipate the date.”