A Kwara-based journalist, Usman Haruna, has raised an alarm after receiving a text message threatening that he and his family could be subjected to “very brutal things.”
Mr Haruna, Editor-in-Chief of NupekoTV, told PREMIUM TIMES that the message was sent at about 8:35 p.m. on 23 August, while he was in Ilorin.
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The sender identified himself as “Biggy from Temidire” and claimed that he had been monitoring Mr Haruna and his family for four days.
PREMIUM TIMES reviewed the text message sent to Mr Haruna.
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The sender wrote: “GOOD DAY SIR WITH HONOR SIR I WILL LOVE TO GIVE THIS GRACE SIR WITH RESPECT CAUSE YOU ARE NOT AWARE OF WHAT IS GOING ON OVER 4DAYS NW I HAVE MAKE ENOUGH INVESTIGATION ABOUT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MR HARUNA USMAN.”
The sender further claimed that his associates had been tracking Mr Haruna and that two unidentified men had provided his details for the purpose of carrying out attacks against him and his family.
“THE ISSUE IS THAT, THERE ARE 2 MEN WHO BRING MY BOYS UR DETAILS FOR ME TO DO U AND UR FAMILY VERY BRUTAL THINGS THEY WANT U DOWN AND UR FAMILY TO BE HURT,” the message read.
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The sender urged the journalist to call him and warned him not to “play smart.”
“I DONT WANT U TO PLAY SMART WITH ME MR HARUNA CALL ME IT BIGGY FROM TEMIDIRE,” he wrote.
Mr Haruna said he did not respond to the message and has not received another message from the sender since then.
Why he suspects threat
Mr Haruna said he initially treated the message as possibly random but became concerned because of the nature of his journalism.
He said NupekoTV regularly reports kidnapping, banditry, governance and development issues, adding that some people had previously pressured him to withdraw reports.
“Some individuals will call us and then there are instances where we are being instructed to take down the kind of reports that we do. Though we refused, we still continue,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.
He said the people who previously contacted him included community leaders and other individuals who, according to him, were unhappy with some of the station’s reports.
Mr Haruna, however, said he could not establish who was behind the latest threat.
“I felt like it could just be a random stuff, but on the other hand, we felt we should not take it lightly,” he said.
He said the message contained information about his family and where they lived, which increased his concern about the sender’s claim that he and his family had been monitored.
Previous intimidation
Mr Haruna said the latest threat came after other incidents in which he and his media organisation faced pressure over their reporting.
He recalled that, weeks before receiving the threatening message, NupekoTV published photographs of a dilapidated secondary school in his community.
According to him, the publication triggered calls demanding that the report be withdrawn.
He also recalled an incident in February when he attended a protest in the Kwara State capital as an individual.
Mr Haruna said his participation subsequently led to pressure from a community and sociocultural organisation with which he was affiliated.
He said he was suspended for three months despite explaining that he attended the protest in his personal capacity and did not represent the organisation.
According to him, he was not reinstated after the suspension period elapsed.
Petition to authorities
Mr Haruna said he has informed security authorities about the threat and was preparing formal petitions to the police and the State Security Services (SSS).
He said he wants the authorities to establish the identity of the sender, determine whether the claims about surveillance are genuine and investigate the identities of the two people allegedly mentioned in the message.
“I don’t know him or the two men he mentioned,” Mr Haruna said in an earlier communication to PREMIUM TIMES.
He said he was not making any allegation against any individual or group because he did not have evidence linking anyone to the threat.
Similar concerns in Kaduna
The allegation comes amid renewed concerns from press freedom organisations over the treatment of journalists in Nigeria.
In Kaduna State, the police recently declared journalist Zainab Yabagi wanted over a video explainer produced by JKD Radio and Television concerning Ibrahim Masari, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Political Affairs.
The development followed an incident in which armed police officers allegedly invaded JKD TV Hamada Radio Network in Millennium City, Kaduna.
Amnesty International condemned the incident, saying the station’s General Manager, Charles Abah, and a security guard were arbitrarily arrested during the raid.
The organisation said the development reflected what it described as an increasingly difficult environment for Nigerian journalists reporting on matters of public interest.
“Attacking JKD Radio/Television is part of a wider pattern of attempts to create a climate of fear across newsrooms in Nigeria and to make it harder for journalists to do their job,” Amnesty International said.
The organisation also said that no government official should be above scrutiny and criticism in the public interest.
IPI demands police action
The Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute also condemned the Kaduna incident.
IPI Nigeria called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to identify and sanction officers allegedly involved in the invasion of the media organisation.
In a statement signed by its Secretary, Ahmed Shekarau, the organisation described the deployment of armed policemen to the station as a troubling reminder of repression against the Nigerian media.
IPI Nigeria said disputes arising from reports published or broadcast by media organisations should not ordinarily involve the police.
It urged anyone aggrieved by a media report to seek redress through the courts and called on the Inspector-General of Police to direct police formations not to allow officers to be used to intimidate journalists or civilians.
READ ALSO: Four suspected cattle rustlers killed, 35 cows recovered in Kwara
“The Inspector General of Police is urged to issue an advisory to all police formations to steer clear of civil cases and to stop allowing themselves to be used as weapons to terrorise civilians,” the organisation said.
IPI Nigeria also called for the arrest and sanction of officers involved in the Kaduna operation.
Need for investigation
For Mr Haruna, the immediate concern is determining whether the threatening message was a genuine warning or an attempt at intimidation.
He said he has preserved the message and is cooperating with efforts to establish its source.
The journalist said he hopes the police and SSS will investigate the matter and determine whether his work as a journalist was connected to the threat.
He also urged other journalists facing similar threats to take such incidents seriously and report them to the appropriate authorities.
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