ELECTIONS: Opposition parties reveal govt’s plots against media houses, reporters

Opposition parties under the aegis of Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), have alerted of alleged plots by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to clamp down on some media houses and reporters during Saturday’s presidential election.

It also alleged that government has concluded plans to jam telecommunications signals around all collation centres and homes of key opposition leaders nationwide.

This was stated by the spokesman of CUPP, Imo Ugochinyere, in a statement on Thursday.

“Opposition parties have reliably gathered that agents of the Federal Government have concluded plans to clamp down on media houses and their reporters on Saturday.

“This is to ensure that these media houses do not have the opportunity of informing Nigerians the various irregularities being planned for the Presidential and National Assembly elections in favour of the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress across the country.

“Top on the list of media organisations listed for attack are the Africa Independent Television, Silverbird Television, Arise Television, Ray Power FM and 15 other radio stations scattered across Rivers, Kwara, Kano, Akwa Ibom among other states.

“The plan is to jam and destroy transmitting equipment of these media organisations on Election Day.

“The strategy also includes indiscriminate arrest and detention of reporters and cameramen of these stations while their working tools will be confiscated and destroyed,” he said.

On plots to jam telecommunication signals, he said government wants to use a brother to a state governor in the North, who is a director in a major base station services provider for telecommunication companies to disconnect service providers in targeted areas under the guise of debt recovery.

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“They want to keep the whole country in darkness so as to stop citizens from tweeting, blogging and giving live updates on what is going on in every centre so that they will be able to carry out their rigging plan.

“They don’t want the people’s voice to be heard because they have already concluded their evil plot to ensure that the election is not free and fair,” he said.

The opposition spokesman then called Buhari to caution his men to desist from their plans and stop their repeated acts of instigating electoral violence.

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