The Lagos council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) yesterday said it was in support of the Federal Government’s commencement of the prosecution of Folio Communications Limited, Messrs Fidelis Anosike, Mr Noel Anosike and others over alleged fraud and assets stripping at the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc (DTN).
The Federal Government had recently slammed a 21-count charge of conspiracy and stealing of over N3 billion worth of properties belonging to DTN on Folio, Fidelis Anosike and and three others at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Briefing newsmen at its secretariat in Ikeja, Chairman of the council, Mr. Wahab Oba, said the buy-over of DTN by Folio Communications was a scam that was plotted and orchestrated to rip off the government and truncate the repentant and its penitent effort to restore the lost glory of the company.
Oba disclosed that from all indications, Folio Communications and its Chairman, Mr. Fidelis Anosike, are not interested in the business or profession of journalism or newspaper publication, but are system manipulators and opportunists, who used a combination of cajoling, misrepresentation and inside information sourcing and deployment to make the government sell its shares in the DTN to them in order to strip it of its valuable assets.
He stated that the council has confidence in President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration to bring all those behind the sale of Daily Times to book, in order to convince Nigerians of its resolve to fight corruption in the country.
The NUJ chairman added that the prosecution of Folio and the Anosikes by the government was no doubt consistent with the court case it instituted against them, praying for the outright revocation of the sale of the DTN due to assets stripping, inability to revive the company and non-payment of staff salaries.
Credit: THISDAY