How Presidential Amnesty Programme officials barred GbaramamtuVoice from covering stakeholders meeting in Ogulagha

The Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (Retd) on Friday, February 10, 2023, in Ogulagha Kingdom, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta state, against all known logic barred GbaramatuVoice crew from covering the stakeholders meeting held in the kingdom that had over 500 people in attendance.

Aside from acting ahead of reason and demonstrating disdain for GbaramatuVoice, the unwarranted action more than anything brought into view the inglorious military onslaught against the media in the 1990s during the darks days of military rule in Nigeria.

As a background to being at the event, GbaramatuVoice was duly invited to the event by the Ebenanaowei of Ogulagha Kingdom, who is the Paramount ruler of the kingdom.

Acting on the strength of the above invitation, GbaramatuVoice crew led by its Chief Executive Officer, Jacob Abai, arrived Obotobo community, venue of the event about 10am, and just shortly after our arrival, the advance team of the Interim Administrator equally arrived the venue in two Toyota Coaster buses.

Sighting GbaramatuVoice crew whom were clad in customized jacket and led by its Chief Executive Officer, Jacob Abia, the Media Adviser to the Interim Administrator immediately summoned of one the prominent chief in the kingdom and openly instructed that they would not want GbaramatuVoice to be part of the programme.

While insisting that the newspaper must not be found near the venue or allowed to take pictures of the preceding, they concluded that at the end of the meeting, they will do a press statement and send it to GbaramatuVoice.

All explanations by the chief and another illustrious son of the kingdom to the effect that GbaramatiuVoice was invited by the King were flagrantly rebuffed by the media aide and some other members of the advance team.

On his part, Jacob Abai, GbaramatuVoice Chief Executive Officer stood his ground, insisting that GbaramatuVoice will not leave the venue as the news organization neither gate-crashed nor ‘invaded’ the venue but was formally invited by the King. He concluded that it is only the king that has the right to send the crew out.

After a protracted deliberation, the Presidential Amnesty team gave a conditional nod to the Newspaper’s coverage of the event.

The two laughable conditions!

First and very fundamental, they insisted that GbaramatuVoice will not live-stream the programme. Even as the information behind the move remains sketchy, GbaramatuVoice management believes that it may not be unconnected with the newspaper’s hard posture on Ndiomu’s deformed policies as it concerns Amnesty programme and related decisions stripped of human face.

The second condition was that the newspaper will only be allowed to cover the preliminary aspect of the programme but MUST vacate the hall when the interim administrator is to give his remarks.

While the newspaper accepted not to broadcast live, it however, again protested against the second condition. Aside from being constitutionally wrong, GbaramatuVoice maintained that such policy was draconian but against the ethos of journalism practice in Nigeria.

After the protracted “debate”, the Interim Administrator arrived at the SPDC facility in the community, and that was when GbaramatuVoice crew discovered that Presidential Amnesty officials meant business as our cameramen were prevented from going to the helipad to take records of his arrival.

The Event Proper

The unprovoked harassment and unwarranted monitoring of GbaramatuVoice activities continued right inside the hall. Despite this harassment which got to a discomforting level at some point, the Newspaper thought that they must have forgotten or better still, step-down the directive on leaving the hall. But were, however, shell-shocked when the name GbaramatuVoice was openly announced to leave the hall.

This announcement was made at a time when the Interim Administrator was up to give his remark. Also, a noticeable irony of the directive is that other media organizations present (names withheld) were left to record unhindered.

Based on the intervention of some chiefs, the Newspaper’s Cameramen left the hall but unknown to the Amnesty officials, GbaramatuVoice journalists who were not on customized jackets remained in the hall and gathered 100% information that they were trying to hide.

This is the power and beauty of journalism!

Meanwhile, as GbaramatuVoice ponders on this present attack and orchestrated intimidation, it however calls on well meaning Nigerians to ask PAP handlers the offence GbaramatuVoice committed that will make it be singled out to be thrown out of the hall while leaving other media houses to function unhindered? What is that information that he can share freely in a gathering with over five hundred persons but feel rattled with GbaramatuVoice presence?