News company sacks senior reporter for fabricating News report on Buhari

yinka ogunlami

December 22, 2015 7:40 AM

In the fabricated interview in question, Mr Itse Sagay, chairman of President Buhari’s advisory team on anti-corruption, berated and ridiculed Buhari's anti-corruption war.

Olakunle Timothy Taiwo

Popular Nigerian newspaper, The Nigerian Tribune, has reportedly fired Olakunle Timothy Taiwo, a senior reporter for fabricating an interview maligning President Muhammadu Buhari anti-corruption war.

The senior reporter allegedly concocted an interview with a renowned constitutional lawyer, Itse Sagay.

Mr Sagay subsequently came out to deny granting any interview with the reporter of Nigerian Tribune. He also challenged to newspaper to provide evidence of the purported interview.

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In a swift reaction, Managing Director and Editor-In-Chief of Nigerian Tribune, Edward Dickson, confirmed the sack of Olakunle Timothy to Sahara Reporters. The newspaper also issued an apology to Itse Sagay and retracted the concocted report. A source disclosed that an editor was also fired over the same fictitious report.

The Managing Director of the newspaper claimed that he could not make further statement on the scandal because he was in an annual general meeting.

In a related development, Nigerian tribune was mentioned as one of the beneficiaries of the diverted funds for the purchase of weapons to fight the nefarious Boko Haram militants. Former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rt.) allegedly paid several media houses huge amount of money from the diverted funds during the last electioneering campaigns.

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Sambo Dasuki also channelled billions to Raymond Dokpesi and Nduka Obaigbena, pioneer of African Independent Television (AIT) and owner of ThisDay newspaper respectively.

The sacking of the senior reporter is meat to serve as a deterrent to those who fabricate and publish false stories to assassinate the character of people and ridicule their efforts. Some quarters have even called for stiffer sanctioned against those found guilty of this act.

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