Of failed security due to twisted intelligence, harassment of journalists by agents of the state and my expectations for the next 70 years of the NUJ

Of failed security due to twisted intelligence, harassment of journalists by agents of the state and my expectations for the next 70 years of the NUJ

By: Bodunrin Kayode

Of a truth I have too many expectations about the future of journalism in Nigeria. The future to me is like a pregnant woman heavy with just a baby yet looking as if she will give birth to triplets. If colleagues mean well like I do, they will never be comfortable with a lot of things happening to our dear profession in this year of our Lord 2025. We will not even accept the blame of the media being complicit with the lingering insurgency and banditry in the land. This is because journalists can only report but can’t do anything beyond reporting and writing of terse editorials to urge people in authority to account. That is the letter of the Nigerian constitution. It is the obvious failure of actionable intelligence by those who claim to be working for the national interest that is responsible for the lingering security Challenges Nigeria is going through now. It is equally the failure of the nation’s political leadership to act usually when the iron is very hot.

Sadly also, most of those in political authority hardly have time to read and educate themselves about the difference between right and wrong. Even when writers of conscience waste their time to educate and inform them.They bother mostly about how to arrange the next contract to enable them divert the commonwealth of the nation to their pockets. Later they use our stolen billions to further entrench themselves in power. Often times setting dangerous examples for willing security operatives in the Intel services to learn to soil their hands by enriching themselves and compromising their sacred patriotic stands. That is the vicious circle that goes around and comes around according to the boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ola Olukoyede. The media has never been the villain and will never be in this vicious circle as some people want to paint us. Even though the conventional media has its challenges like dealing with the flawed orientation of some of our itel gathering people, it is still part of the greater Nigerian society full of ostentation, perverseness and vainglory.

Matters arising within national interest and the security sector of Nigeria

Think about this premise of truth as it concerns the grim situation of our security in the federation. How many times have the media based on intelligence exposed sponsors of terror in the land? Did the government do anything about it? Who are those advising the central government to stand down instead of punishing these wrong doers? Some label the Nigerian journalist as lazy when it comes to reportage of insecurity, can he do anything beyond reporting and advocacy? I doubt because journalists don’t have guns like the agents of state to forcefully arrest wrong doers for prosecution. Or do they want us to bring down our security operatives like the military before the eyes of right thinking people in the world? Have we not called for the establishment of state police for sub nationals to bypass some of these insecurity challenges? What is delaying the Governors after approval of same in their forum? Have we not called for restructuring of the federation yet nobody is listening? Do the Oligarchy behind behind the power mask really want restructuring? Are they willing to decentralize security for the state to participate in true federalism and separation of powers? Is someone afraid that if states have their Police, insurgents and foreign bandits can no longer be used to destabilize the state? These are the many plethora of questions that demand answers in the eyes of right thinking people we reporters relate with.

The media is also a protector of national interest, never the enemy of the state

Too many blames have been placed on the doorstep of the Nigerian media for so called inability to play the constitutional role of the 4th estate of the realm yet few individuals seem to understand that certain agencies have placed the media at the sidelines as the enemy of the state. They don’t seem to like the high level of independence given to the Nigerian media because some have been trained by agents of the dark period of military which explains their strange orientations. Some are just lame ducks brought in by god fathers making them just empty cans lacking the capacity to act based on the training they were supposed to have received. The Directorate of State security services (DSS) is one agency that these politicians use their loot to fix useless cronies into the system who turn out to be nitwits unable to face the reality of our times. Some of them join such an intelligence based organization simply to use the weapons attached to intimidate and cow people they insultingly called “bloody civilians”. And by making such mistakes, they fall into easy traps set up by politicians against them like those who lost their lives a couple of years ago when they wrongfully went after a mystic called Baba Lakyo around Nasarawa Egon council area of Nasarawa state. My emphasis of wrongfully is made in the sense that the sitting Governor then business man Umaru Almakura had a personal beef with the mystic Baba and his “Ombatse group” and used the federal operatives to settle unnecessary scores. The rest is history as many widows have been produced from that mistake which cost many lives. They would have used their understanding of national interest to navigate through the impasse instead of going headlong into the den of a mystic. Sadly, 70 policemen and 10 state operatives perished unnecessarily. That should serve as a case study in their regular update conferences on how superior wisdom is sometimes more profitable than force or power in the management of state security issues. There is no shame in using wisdom to avoid unnecessary confrontations for instance.

Flawed orientation of contemporary agents of state who have been told journalists are enemies and desperate need for synergy

I sat in a recent workshop by the human rights commission where the rights of refugees and IDP’s were being refreshed and in the process of individual introduction, and an obviously very green operative of state refused to introduce himself properly like others in the hall. From his looks and timidity in his persona, he was clearly within the lowest rank in his service. Possibly not more than the equivalent of a constable in the Federal police. When asked why by the trainer, name withheld, a doctor of Law, he said bluntly, “I don’t want the journalist present in the hall to know my name or who I am”. Literally meaning that others can know him but journalists who should be his partner in progress should not know him. Imagine the faulty and sick orientation. The innuendo here is that the journalist is obviously the enemy of state instead of his partner in the protection of the national interest.
The trainer, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) was livid with rage and warned the state coordinator not to allow green brats like the fellow attend such functions again. “The next time you are inviting anyone from the Intel services, ensure that whoever is coming here is from the management cadre. Is that clear” he posited.

Not the fault of badly oriented Intel brats like him

I felt sympathy for the young man in suite because he was virtually vomiting what was taught to him in their training school. I can almost visualize the mantra; ” The media is a vital enemy of state because of their disrespect for the status quo” he had laid barely on the table. I also imagine how those directed by Yusuf Bichi when he held sway as the boss would be thinking now. There would be so much bitter bile in their mindset against the journalism profession. This is because Bichi belongs to the old guard of the Nigerian Security Organization (NSO). And we all know the orientation of the then NSO, a very repressive organization. Umaru Shinkafi took over as DG in 1979 and virtually created an agency with a similar orientation with the repressive colonial police he had joined in 1959. But thanks to former head of state Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), we now have what is a bit close to a secret service. While there are fine officers within their organization who know how to give actionable Intel to political authorities to end some of these security challenges, we still have charlatans unfit to wear their uniforms or black suits. These unfit operatives who use force more than intelligence abound in many state commands and I think the management should start fishing them out and showing them the door. They are the permanent haters of journalists believing that young operatives should never drop their guards for us not to talk about mutual trust because of our ability to bring down rouge people in authority who do wrong. The truth is that the media does not deliberately go out to embarrass or bring down anyone in authority. The press has never been the enemy of the state. We are harbingers of the truth which to us is sacrosanct.
Journalism is a public service profession aimed at protecting the people and the national interest. Our duty is to inform, educate, and hold power accountable for all their actions and inactions. We respect constituted authorities like other professionals of state but we do not owe our allegiances to those who are supposed to be accountable to the people. We are permanently for the generality of the people who are our bosses. We are the fourth estate and our duty is not necessarily to serve as mouthpieces of authority but to ensure that the common and oppressed pepper and tomatoes seller is not trampled upon with arrogant force and impunity that can make them cry. To criminalise this duty is to criminalise truth itself. We have our own bad eggs from the pool of the rotten Nigerian society but they are very few and the NUJ and other arms know how to deal with them. They always pay the prices attached to their rebellion against the truth.

The Constitutional role of the media, relationship with DSS and the national interest

But come to think about it, the Nigerian Constitution supports the media’s effective functioning primarily through Section 22 (Obligation of the mass media) and Section 39 (Right to freedom of expression and the press). Section 22 outlines the media’s duty to hold the government accountable. Section 39 however guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including the right to receive and share information and to operate media outlets, with a note on government licensing for broadcast media. Section 39 is a fundamental right under Chapter IV and is key to the media’s legal operational freedom. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) of 2011 also supports the media by improving access to public records. If we have all these instruments of operation, how then can anyone declare the media as the enemy of state? Is it because the journalist owes his allegiance only to the people and nobody else? Why is the journalist so much in the so called “bloody civilian” list of “badly trained” operatives of the state who have marked us as enemies? Is the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) worried about this? What are we doing about laying the foundation to correct excesses like these in the next 70 years? If we do almost similar jobs, of protecting the national interest and our people, why then does some of the state service operatives so hate journalists as to put some colleagues on watch list sometimes up to 20 years? When I learnt that a senior colleague I had admired so much as a cub reporter was just removed from the watch list of the state operatives after two decades, I marveled at the mere thought of putting the revered Lanre Arogundade on such a witch craft manipulation list. A highly committed professional who has served humanity for as long as I have known him. But thank God people like Adeola Ajayi are far better than old guards like Yusuf Bichi who was brought in to wrongly redefine what we all know as national interest. It was during Bichi’s tenure that a lot of unthinkable things happened yet life went on. Bandits and insurgents paraded all over the savannah and life went on. It made some of us worry if we were in the same country and what their own definition of national interest was. He was so inept that he could not help his people internally in terms of welfare rather he was trampling on them. No wonder there was a tumultuous celebration at the national headquarters of the state service when Bichi was dropped. An impeccable source hinted me that most of the rotten eggs flushed out by the state service recently were beneficiaries of Bichi’s wrong orientation and misguided understanding of patriotism. Some came in before Bichi but it was worthwhile that 115 operatives were flushed out from the system. “And don’t be surprised more will soon be thrown out for the same nasty reasons if the godfather syndrome of recruitment continues instead of merit ” said my source.

COCIN Church and the reason for friction with operatives and arbitrary arrest of journalists by State operatives.

The recent embarrassment of the President of the church of Christ in nations (cocin) in Jos shows how deep seated the hatred some of them have for journalists. Imagine a scenario in which the President was yet to take off from Abuja to attend a funeral in Jos. While preparing for the service, the President of the church Rev. Amos Mohzo was stopped from getting into the head quarters church to prepare for the funeral. He assumed the position after being elected in November 2021 so that should not be a strange detail for even a non Christian operative to keep upstairs. They should know who he is. But how on earth an operative of state will be so myopic that he or she can not spot such an important figure is scary. Let’s pretend as if this is not part of their training. How do you guard VIPs without being able to spot them on the field? Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Jamatu Nasir Islam (JNI), Sultan of Sokoto, powerful church leaders like Catholic Bishops and even the Imam of the national mosque. How do they guard such people without knowing them? It looks so absurd that even green horned operatives will not know such important people. The COCIN boss his deputy and assistant secretary wanted to access the church to prepare for the funeral of the mother of the All Progressive Congress (APC) national chair Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda ahead only to be told that they are not allowed into their official property. While the subordinates of Dr Mohzo were trying to educate these people that they were actually stopping the landlord of the building from going in an argument ensued and that was what the JFM reporters were said to have been recording. Sadly, that was what triggered the arrest of the reporters. To me that was equally the height of arrogance and impunity from small brats who still take instructions from middle cadre officers against a giant public official of no mean repute. They were so so wrong in their actions and needed to be told so. From what I can figure out from my binoculars, something has to be done about the fundamental flaws in the doctrine of these organizations quickly before they start shooting people on the streets of Nigeria in the name of killing enemies like reporters. If that is not corrected this pathetic wickedness will continue with impunity. Why? This is because it is often said in Africa that no matter how you wash a leopard it cannot drop it’s black spots. Equally, no matter how you wash the black hand of a monkey, it can never change to white even for those who eat monkey meat. “No matter how clean you wash am, na black e be.” That is the sad reality among even some of those who rank above the Assistant director’s level. What happened in that church was completely wrong and sources told us that the DG of DSS was miffed by it and rightly directed a query to be issued to those green horns for wrong doings and warnings to them not to smear the image of their organizations again. This was how the management of JFM radio station reacted with a final release to the wrong doing of the operatives of the state in Jos recently:

OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY THE MANAGEMENT OF JAY 101.9 FM JOS ON THE ARBITRARY ARREST AND DETENTION OF OUR JOURNALISTS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE SERVICES IN JOS

Gentlemen of the Press,

Further to our earlier statement regarding the arrest of our staff, Ruth Marcus and Keshia Jang, who were assigned to cover the burial rites of the late mother of the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, at the COCIN headquarters Church, we wish to inform you that they have been released. Upon confirming that the DSS was holding them, frantic efforts were made to secure their release. Although our efforts were initially rebuffed, they were eventually released. This event has once again prompted us to draw attention to the disturbing issues of press freedom violations, human rights abuses, and the erosion of the rule of law by security agencies. We want to reiterate that as professionals, our staff did what journalists are trained and ethically mandated to do: they documented an incident on video for public record and accountability.

We call on the DSS to note that:

1. Their actions in abducting and detaining them are illegal, undemocratic, and unacceptable. They represent a blatant violation of the fundamental rights to freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and personal liberty as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and various international conventions to which our nation is a signatory.
2. The press is not an enemy of the state. Journalism is a public service profession. Our duty is to inform, educate, and hold power accountable, not to serve as mouthpieces of authority. To criminalise this duty is to criminalise truth itself.
3. The DSS must act with civility and restraint. We remind the agency that this nation is under civilian rule, not military dictatorship. Security agencies exist to protect citizens, not to intimidate or abduct them. Power must always be exercised within the bounds of the law and in accordance with respect for democratic norms.
4. This pattern of intimidation and repression must stop. It sends a chilling message to journalists that telling the truth may lead to persecution. Such conduct undermines the very fabric of democracy and fosters a climate of fear and impunity. We reaffirm that Jay 101.9 FM will not be intimidated or silenced. Our commitment to truth, objectivity, and the democratic ideal remains unwavering. To those who wield power, we remind you that the freedom of the press is the life blood of democracy. When journalists are silenced, democracy dies in darkness. We call on all citizens, the media fraternity, and the international community to stand in solidarity with us in demanding respect for the rule of law, freedom of the press, and for journalists to carry out their statutory duties without fear or hindrance, as well as respect for human rights.Thank you. Signed, Clinton Garuba.

I am happy that the President of the NUJ Comrade Alhassan reacted to the release of the two journalists later. The journalists are seen as the ones who put the operatives in trouble by fishing out what they were supposed to see that they failed to see and alert their superiors about it. So mark them as enemies quickly. Arrant nonsense.
These operatives who see us as permanent enemies, visit our homes when we are not around to fix bugs to listen to all our discussions will never stop seeing the fourth estate as enemies. In 2025 they still bug lines of reporters to know what we are doing at every given time. And sadly they put some of us on watch list illegally for being outspoken as if it is a sin to be outspoken or straight jacket. The most insulting of all the assaults against us is using colleagues closest to us to record and send same to them in the name of protection. The way they placed one of our own Lanre Arogundade on watch list for over 20 years for doing nothing against them.

After 70 years of practice in this country we are still being labeled as “enemies of the state” because we cause the state to account for all their atrocious tendencies against the people. From the President of the NUJ Comrade Alhassan to the rest of us they have always classified as enemies. No one is spared because your teeth is whiter than the other or due to the sound of your name. Some of them are quite pleasant and respectful when we encounter them on the field but a sizable number of them are wired for a phantom republic they will never see in their lifetime. They are extremely distrustful of themselves and others and this is why the government has not been making progress in securing the country. They don’t even trust themselves not to talk of the citizenry. No wonder whenever they come to Maiduguri, they psychologically disarm their own colleagues on ground and take charge of the security architecture because we are all seen as perceived insurgents for leaving our states far away to agree to serve humanity here. Well if they have enemies within we don’t. Only God knows how the next 70 years of the NUJ will be. But I tell you we will make progress by Gods grace.

Bodunrin Kayode, a journalist wrote from maiduguri.

Of failed security due to twisted intelligence, harassment of journalists by agents of the state and my expectations for the next 70 years of the NUJ