The Akwa Ibom State Government has rejected its inclusion in the International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria’s Book of Infamy, insisting that Governor Umo Eno has never repressed journalists in the state.
Musikilu Mojeed, the president of the IPI Nigeria, announced Mr Eno on Tuesday as one of the three Nigerian officials blacklisted for serious violations of press freedom and democratic norms in the country.
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The other two blacklisted officials are Governor Mohammed Bago of Niger State and the Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, while the IPI Nigeria honoured the Director-General of the State Security Service, Adeola Ajayi, for exemplary conduct in protecting journalists.
According to the IPI Nigeria, Governor Eno is blacklisted for barring Channels Television reporters from the Government House Press Centre in May 2025 after they reported an “undemocratic” remark by the governor.
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The journalists remain excluded from the press centre seven months later, with no corrective action taken, despite repeated engagement by the IPI Nigeria and formal letters demanding redress.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, described the IPI claim as “false, unfounded, and completely inconsistent with the well-established facts of the State’s open and cordial relationship with the media.”
It also accused Premium Times newspaper, whose Editor-in-Chief, Mr Mojeed, is the IPI Nigeria president, of hostility. “We are not surprised at this latest claim, given the known antagonistic disposition of Premium Times towards the Akwa Ibom State Government,” the statement said.
PREMIUM TIMES and IPI Nigeria are two separate organisations, with neither of them having any control over the other.
The Akwa Ibom State Government did not provide any explanation of what it meant by “known antagonistic disposition of Premium Times”.
Government challenges IPI on evidence
The government demanded proof of its wrongdoing. “The Government hereby challenges the IPI and its leadership to provide a single verifiable instance of any journalist arrested, detained, invited, intimidated, or harassed on the orders of the Governor or the Akwa Ibom State Government,” Mr Umanah said.
It also insisted that no media platform was ever sanctioned. “We also challenge them to identify any media house shut down, sanctioned, or barred from operating in the state. None exists because no such incident has occurred under this administration.”
However, the statement failed to address the specific incident cited by IPI — that Channels Television reporters have been denied access to the Government House Press Centre for seven months after airing an “undemocratic remark” made by the governor. The prolonged exclusion reportedly persisted despite a letter and other interventions from IPI Nigeria.
Instead of addressing the allegation, the government claimed the incident was a “routine reassignment”.
“For the avoidance of doubt, if the IPI’s claim is anchored on the recent routine recall of Mr Chris Moffat… and Mr Kufre Ikpe… the Institute is completely misguided,” the commissioner for information stated.
It added that redeployment was a standard practice. “Personnel who have served long enough in a particular location or beat are periodically rotated to allow others gain experience and improve operational efficiency.”
However, the commissioner for information failed to clarify whether the “routine reassignment” of the Channels TV reporter and cameraman was done by the TV station or the Akwa Ibom State Government.
The government highlighted what it considers its strong media-relations credentials, citing the donation of 11 vehicles to the executive members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council, as well as the completion of the NUJ auditorium in Uyo. It further pointed to the appointments of some journalists into the government.
“Akwa Ibom currently has 356 media and communication professionals engaged by the government—the highest number of media practitioners appointed by any state government,” Mr Umanah said. “This is not the profile of a government that represses the press.”
The government insisted, without proof, that the IPI position was bias against it. “Such carelessness underscores a clear bias against a governor widely recognised as one of the most media savvy in Nigeria.”
It demanded a retraction and apology from the IPI president.
Background
Before his defection to the APC in June, Governor Eno held a meeting with political stakeholders where he made remarks that his media handlers reportedly instructed journalists not to publish. The video was leaked by Channels TV. The development angered the governor, leading to the eviction of the Channels TV reporter and cameraman from the Government House Press Corps.
In the video, the governor asked commissioners unwilling to join him in the APC to resign. He also vowed to retain control of the PDP structure in the state after his defection to prevent “thieves from hijacking it and using it to fight” him.
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