By Nehru Odeh
The International Press Centre (IPC) has condemned the decision of the Department of State Services, DSS, to accredit only ten media organisations to cover the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) today, Monday July 26th, 2021.
In a statement signed by its Program Officer/Safety Desk Officer, Melody Lawal, IPC said the DSS has no constitutional power to accredit journalists to cover the trial.
“IPC is of the firm opinion that the Department of State Service (DSS) has no constitutional right to accredit journalists to cover the trial of Nnamdi Kanu or any other suspect for that matter based on the provisions of the National Security Agencies Act.
“IPC is amazed and concerned about this development which has no precedent anywhere in the world.
“The trial of Nnamdi Kanu is a matter of public interest and accrediting some media outlets to cover it violates press freedom and the right of the public to know,” the statement read.
The media organizations that the Department of State Services accredited include Daily Post, Premium Times, Thisday, The Nation, The Herald, and Daily Independent while the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Channels Television, Africa Independent Television and Television Continental (TVC) were picked from the broadcast media sector.