By BASHIR ADEFAKA
The news report earlier that presenters of Channels Television were arrested by suspected security agents from the State Security Service (SSS) has been dismissed as false and twisted.
We gathered from a media report that the television presenters namely, Chamberlain Usoh and Kayode Okikiolu, allegedly arrested, were actually invited to the office of the broadcasting regulatory agency, National Broadcast Commission (NBC), for questioning.
The broadcasters were invited following an interview they had with Commodore Kunle Olawumi (Rtd) on Channels TV Sunrise Daily.
Olawumi had made several allegations against the Federal Government, which the commission considered ‘unpleasant’, hence, invited the presenters to answer some questions.
The DEFENDER learned that they were still at the meeting in the commission’s office as at the time of this report.
Channels Television has been frequently warned, reprimanded and fined for breaching broadcasting code whereby one of its presenters put spokesman of terrorist organisation, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on air running the government and its military down in a way capable of setting the public against the government.
Kunle Olawumi, according to a complaint posted online Wednesday 25 August, 2021, while discussing the security breach at the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), was reported to have said the main cause of the breach is because every Friday the gates of all military institutions are open to Muslim worshippers “who may come to profile the environment for future attacks”.
The complainant said: “Now you may say well he may be right, religion is the problem. What he failed to mention is that on sundays the same gates are open to Christian worshippers as well. He kept that silent. He knows that while there is a mosques in every barrack, there are always two churches, one for Catholics the other for protestants.
“You think it was an oversight? He’s an intelligence officer, he knew what he was doing. That’s the problem, we always take sides even on serious issues. It was Islam that he wanted to attack not the criminals.”
The Olawumi’s comment was described as sad and Channels TV, despite fines in the past for similar breaches of broadcasting code, allowing it to fly as unfortunate.
“Very unfortunate for an intelligence officer to stoop so low and sad for Channels TV that is promoting ethno-religious tendencies.”
