Yobe Govt Demands Retraction Of “Baseless” Report On Mass Killings
By Mohammed Maitela, Damaturu
Yobe State Government has asked The Punch newspaper to retract a story the government said was false and baseless.
According to a statement by Mamman Mohammed, the Director-General, Press and Media Affairs to the state governor, the report published today was “false, misleading and baseless”.
The report was on an alleged mass killing in Mafa village, Tarmuwa local government area of the state.
“For the records, Mafa village in Tarmuwa local government mentioned in the report, and Yobe State generally, has been peaceful with the people pursuing their legitimate businesses.
“The Yobe State Police command, Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Affairs, and the Chairman Tarmuwa Local Government council have all debunked the claimed attack and burial.
“This, therefore calls for a retraction of the false report, and a public apology to the government and people of Yobe State especially Mafa community who have suffered psychological trauma from the report.
“It is a gross disservice to journalism for a newspaper like the Punch to allow its reporter to mislead Nigerians and the World with such a complete false, baseless and unwarranted publication.
“The image of the newspaper has been put to test in the eyes of the public with such a misleading publication.
“The public is hereby advised to disregard the report and all its content in totality as it is completely false, baseless, misleading and without any iota of truth,” the statement added.
