*Journalists should be wiser than mischief of desperate politicians – Respondent
Just as some Nigerians are beginning to express concern over relapse to fake press releases by opposition politicians, currently playing 2019 politics in Nigeria, information released to a section of the Nigerian Press earlier on Monday by Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar raising alarm that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had raided the home of two of his sons has been dismissed by the anti-graft agency as fake news.
The EFCC said there was no time it went after the sons of the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar.
It said this in a series of tweets on Monday, hours after a report emerged that EFCC operatives raided a building occupied by two sons of the former president over the weekend.
The anti-graft agency stated that while the operation was carried out, it was not targeted at Atiku’s sons.
It explained that it was investigating a former governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji, for alleged money laundering activities.
The EFCC alleged that the former governor carried out the activities through his sons.
It disclosed that it had been on the trail of cars allegedly bought by Orji’s sons, and later traced the cars to a nightclub in the nation’s capital on Friday last week.
The commission added that its operatives waited patiently through the night and this led to the arrest of Orji’s son and his friend early on Saturday.
The duo were said to have led EFCC operatives to their apartment and have been providing the agency with useful information.
The EFCC tweets came after PREMIUM TIMES reported the search of the building located in the Maitama area of the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the online newspaper, the building also houses an apartment occupied by Orji’s sons.
One of the EFCC’s tweets read: “#Alert The recent arrest of Ogbonna Orji, son of Sen. Theodore Orji, over money laundering, has absolutely nothing to do with son of ex-VP Atiku Abubakar.”
With the latest development, PDP leaders are now confirmed to use fake releases as political tools, a respondent who refused to be named told The DEFENDER.
“And the unfortunate thing here is that, they have chosen to do this evil job using some ready hands in the Nigerian Press would help air their fake news on the ground that they are practicing journalism whereby they represent all sides. Now, let us ask ourselves; what is representing all sides in the news that medium published? Are you not supposed to have been professionally sound enough to know that in situation where a section of political players chose the first time to mislead your reportage, you are supposed to be wiser the second, third time. That medium, Premium Times continues to carryout that hatchet job and is it going to claim professionalism this time or mistake?” He asked.
