The National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC), otherwise known as the Ombudsman, has ruled that the Daily Trust newspaper’s July 4, 2024 front page story titled “LGBT: Nigeria Signs $150 Billion Samoa Deal” breached media professional standards as the publication contained inaccurate and misleading information.

It has therefore directed the newspaper to take remedial action, including publishing an apology in its print and online versions.

In a 16-page decision issued  on September 23, 2024, on a complaint lodged before it by the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, on behalf of the Federal Government, on July 8, 2024 over the publication, the nine-member independent co-regulatory body held that the newspaper’s story was not, accurate, balanced, and fair, and that it therefore, fell short of the standards required in the journalism profession as contained in the Revised Code of Conduct for Nigerian Journalists, 2022.

The newspaper’s July 4, 2024 report, which is the subject of the complaint, alleged that the Federal Government had signed a European Union (EU) partnership agreement (referred to as the “Samoa Agreement”) with member states of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), despite some conditional clauses that compel benefiting nations to support the agitations by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community for recognition.

However, in a letter to the NMCC, dated July 8, 2024, and signed by Dr. Ngozi Onwudiwe, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, on behalf of the Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, the Government complained that the report contained “false and misleading” information and that as a result of the alleged false report, “individuals and government officials have been subjected to hate speech, threats, intimidation, and cyberbullying across social media.”

The NMCC appointed a complaints’ committee, made up of some of its members, to examine the complaint.  The Committee decided to adopt a “Documents-Only” review procedure in addressing the issue and accordingly dispensed with the need for an oral hearing. It invited relevant documents from the Complainant and the Respondent. In all, the Complainant submitted three documents, while the Respondent presented 13 documents to the Committee.

After an exhaustive review of the complaint and the various documents submitted by the parties, the Committee produced a draft report, which was subjected to further review and deliberation by the entire body. The NMCC subsequently adopted a final report in which it noted, among other things, that contrary to the newspaper’s reporting, the 403-page Samoa Agreement does not contain any clause that compels underdeveloped and developing nations to support the agitations by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community for recognition, as a condition for getting financial and other supports from the European nations, and that there is no reference whatsoever in the Agreement to the issue of LGBTQ.

Accordingly, the NMCC directed that the Daily Trust should do the following:

A. Accept without equivocation that its reporting on the issue in question was inaccurate and misleading as its treatment of the report showed a lapse in news judgement and fell short of the expected standards of the 2022 Revised Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists.

B. Publish an apology prominently in both the print and online editions of the Daily Trust.

C. Take the necessary internal editorial measures to prevent a future occurrence.

D. Publish the report of the NMCC in this matter within seven days of receiving it.

The NMCC also admonished the Federal Government for neglecting to proactively disclose to the Nigerian public shortly after it signed the Agreement that it had done so, as well as for failing to explain the essentials, implications and benefits of the Agreement to the country and to the Nigerian people. It added that Transparency and accountability are crucial aspects of the democratic process, including for the purpose of earning and enjoying public trust.

Observing that conjectures and speculations about the Samoa Agreement could have been avoided had the Government been more forthcoming with the fact that it had signed it, the NMCC stressed that in the digital age, proactivity in information dissemination across all offices of the government and all tiers of government on matters of public interest is non-negotiable. It added that the government and all its institutions have an obligation to abolish the prevailing culture of secrecy in governance as it gives the impression that the government holds the public in contempt, and therefore, renders them inactive in what should be a participatory system of governance. The NMCC urged the government to take deliberate steps to create a knowledge society and bring about the emergence of an informed and active citizenry.

The NMCC’s final report has been transmitted to the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation as well as the Daily Trust newspaper.

The NMCC thanked the Complainant and the Respondent for submitting themselves to the co-regulatory mechanism offered by the National Media Complaints Commission. The Commission remains committed to providing the public with an independent forum for resolving complaints about the media, resolving all complaints quickly, fairly and free of charge, maintaining high standards of journalism practice and journalistic ethics, and defending the freedom of the press and the rights of the people to know.

Eluem Emeka Izeze

Chairman

Feyi Smith

Interim Secretary