NIA Operatives Storm Peoples Gazette HQ Over Leaked Secret Memo

Operatives of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on Monday stormed the Headquarters of Peoples Gazette in Abuja over a leaked memo allegedly exposing it’s Director-General, Rufai Abubakar.

Naija News reports that the online newspaper had published a series of three articles concerning a memo that spy chiefs at the foreign intelligence office had written to President Muhammadu Buhari, warning him against retaining Rufai Abubakar as the DG over his lack of intellectual and physiological rigour for the position.

Weeks after the articles, four officers in a white Toyota Hilux truck arrived the newspaper’s office shortly after 1:00 p.m., intimidated security personnel at the gate and forced their way into our offices on the second floor.

The operatives demanded to see The Gazette’s Managing Editor Samuel Ogundipe and reporter Hillary Essien.

One of the officers, who wore a cream kaftan with a matching cap, gave a letter to The Gazette’s front desk staff. Pages of the letter were subsequently scanned and transmitted to paper’s lawyers in Lagos.

The officers left after they realised that Mr Ogundipe and Ms Essien were not at the office, but indicated in their letter that they will make additional efforts to realise the agency’s mission.

The three-page letter, signed by Armstrong Machunga on behalf of the DG, described the content of the memo written to the president by the directors as being “full of falsehood,” adding that “it is even worse that Peoples Gazette did not deem it necessary to validate the allegations in such a letter with the other party before running to press.”

“It should be on the record that the NIA, as a Secret Service, is sensitive to undue publicity, but not shy of accountability and ready to engage on any issue of concern with responsible media outlets. The malicious publication under reference falls in the category of undue publicity and is most unwelcome.

“Peoples Gazette, therefore, has to come clean not the falsehood it published and prove that it is not working for people with ulterior negative motives against the NIA, by forwarding to us a copy of the letter from which the publication emanated and identify signatories to the purported letter.

“This could set the stage for engagement and resolution of the damage that has been caused to the image of the Director General of the NIA and the organisation. Failure to take advantage of this opportunity may lead to activation of other options to seek redress,” the letter, dated December 23, 2021, but delivered today, said.

It was gathered that Peoples Gazette had made efforts to obtain comments from the NIA prior to running the articles but received no response.

However, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu acknowledged the letter and said the president had addressed the concerns raised by the directors.

Chidi Odinkalu, a constitutional law expert, said the NIA had breached the Nigerian Constitution by sending its agents to The Gazette’s office in the manner it did.

“The NIA acted unlawfully,” Mr Odinkalu said by telephone on Monday afternoon. “If they have anything, they should collaborate with the State Security Service or the Nigeria Police Force who have the responsibility of internal security operations and law enforcement, respectively.”