The Publisher of Leadership Newspapers Mr. Sam Nda Isaiah on Thursday paid a solidarity visit to the top management of Daily Times of Nigeria at their Maitama Abuja office over recent arrest and detention of some staff of the organisation.
While speaking to newsmen after the visit, Nda Isaiah said there was something sinister in the way and manner the Police and a Magistrate Court in Mpape colluded to victimise the Publisher of Daily Times Mr. Fidelis Anosike, the Group Managing Director Barr Noel Anosike and some other staff of the Company.
According to him, the Police High Command may have been misinformed over the dispute on ownership of Daily Times and urged the Inspector General of Police to listen to stakeholders from both sides of the conflict to avoid further embarrassment or escalation of the matter.
“I know all the story of how this Daily Times matter started. The story is also straight forward. You therefore need to take time to listen to everyone involved in the matter in order to take well informed decision. Apart from Police, security agencies should sit down and address it properly. They should look at all the court documents, all agreements and court settlements because what the Police have done so far are in error.”
The Leadership Newspaper boss praised the current Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris whom he said has a lot of security challenges in his hands and has been up and doing, adding however that Police need to take time to study the matter as well as halt the assault on Daily Times and its management.
“The person who ran to Magistrate Court for criminal prosecution over a civil case that is pending in courts of superior jurisdiction knows why he went there in the first place and what he wanted to achieve. That is why I said there is something sinister going on and that the security agencies should wade in to find that sinister substance so that it can be halted before going out of control,” he said.
On the relationship between security agencies and the media in Nigeria, Nda- Isaiah said security agencies still have respect for media practitioners in the country and urged the media not to rely on the error committed over the Daily Times matter to judge the Police, insisting that someone is feeding the Police with misinformation on which they have acted arbitrarily.
Earlier while welcoming Mr. Nda- Isaiah to his office, Fidelis Anosike thanked him for the visit and expressed joy and appreciation to the thousands of Nigerians who have been trooping to his office as well as others who have called on phone or sent messages through the social media over the matter.
Anosike also assured the Leadership Newspaper Publisher that nothing can stop the publication of Daily Times which he described as his passion.
“Nobody can take anything belonging to Daily Times, not even one pin. We are not into property business, we are into publishing. We will continue to publish Daily Times and nobody cannot stop it. Ikechukwu Obiora is only making a mockery of the Judiciary while at the same time influencing the Police to commit impunity. But he cannot take Daily Times. It is not and will never be his property.
“When we bought Daily Times through our company Folio Communications Limited, there was nobody called Sen. Ikechukwu Obiora anywhere in the picture. He was neither a director nor a staff of the company that bought minority shares in Daily Times. That you are claiming ownership of Daily Times because the minority share was divested in your favour is laughable. I cannot remember selling Daily Times to anyone called Ikechukwu Obiora, Anosike concluded.