▪️ My life is not safe. Truth shall prevail soon, but please pay one year salary you owe me – full details of Olatunji’s resignation letter
▪️ Report we published on Gbajabiamila contained falsehood and fabricated stories – FirstNews
▪️ A new case study in Nigeria’s journalism, reactions trail journalist’s resignation, newspaper’s apology
The General Editor, First News Media, Segun Olatunji, has resigned from his appointment.
This came as the newspaper published a story with which it apologised to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila
Olatunji, in a resignation letter addressed to the publisher of the paper, said his decision was borne out of the latest development regarding a story about the Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
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Stating that his life is not safe, the journalist who was abducted, handcuffed, blindfolded and tortured for 14 days by men of the National Defence Intelligence (NDI), pleaded with the newspaper organisation to pay one year salary that he is being owed.
The letter reads as follows:
Sir,
Resignation as General Editor
In view of the latest development regarding the Gbajabiamila story and the stance of the company’s management, I hereby tender my resignation as the General Editor of First News.
It has become imperative for me to resign my appointment for the safety of my person and my family.
However, I want to state that in no distant time, the truth will come out, and then it’ll be my word against theirs.
I hope the Management of First Media Network Limited, publishers of First News newspaper, will be magnanimous enough to fully settle the one year outstanding salaries I am being owed in no time.
I thank the company’s management for giving me the opportunity to contribute my quota to its operations in the past four years.
Yours sincerely
E-signed
Segun Olatunji
Meanwhile, the Management of First News online newspaper, has tendered an unreserved apology to the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, over a news story published on its platform on January 29, 2024.
The story written by the Editor, Mr Segun Olatunji, was entitled, “How Gbajabiamila attempted to corner $30bn, 66 houses traced to Sabiu”
The First News Management, in a statement on Wednesday, said it had discovered the said story contained “falsehoods and fabricated stories handed out to us as facts by a misleading source which was highly negligent on our part and for which we deeply tender an unreserved apology to the Chief of Staff to the President.”
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The statement further read, “As a responsible media organisation, we wish to state very categorically that we have no malicious intent towards the person of the Chief of Staff to the President or his office. Hence, our decision to tender an unreserved apology and the need to publish a retraction of the said story.”
Reactions
Some Nigerians have reacted, describing the development as a new case study for researchers of journalism.
Kote Obe-Eleme wrote; “(This is) the dilemma of the Nigerian journalist.”
Eric Dumo added; “How can any journalist work in a media establishment without pay for an entire year. Really crazy!”
“What has just happened is a new case study in Nigeria’s journalism study,” Damilola Olonade said.
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