By Owei Lakemfa
The International Press Institute, IPI, Nigeria, part of a global network of editors, journalists and media executives, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, blacklisted three serving Nigerian leaders. It found Governor Umo Bassey Eno of Akwa Ibom, his Niger State counterpart, Umaru Bago and, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun guilty of suppressing press freedom across the country.
Eno had on May 24, 2025, expelled Channels Television’s Christopher Mufat and Kufe Ipe from the Akwa Ibom Government House for allegedly revealing remarks made by him. Seven months later, he refused to lift the ban.
IPI Nigeria President, Musikilu Mojeed therefore declared: “For refusing to reverse his administration’s repressive action and for perpetuating a climate hostile to journalists, Governor Umo Eno is hereby listed in the Book of Accountability.”
Rather than reflect, Eno like a man in quick sand, digging deeper, went into over drive. Mr. Anietie Usen, his Media Senior Special Assistant, accused the victims of “ethical misconduct” He described the withdrawal of accreditation from the TV crew as routine as they: “without doubt violated the rules of the game”
Assuming, without conceding that the crew were guilty, did Eno have to take the law into his hands? Why did he not report the journalists to their professional organisations or the institutional Nigerian Press Council, NPC whose core duties include upholding high professional and ethical standards and investigating complaints about the conduct of journalists and media organisations? What gives Eno the arrogance that he can constitute himself into a law court and find Nigerians guilty?
The Eno spokesman added: “the curious aspect of this issue is that it was not the reporter who filed the embargoed story but his cameraman.” Assuming this were true, how is that the business of the Governor? Who told Eno that a television cameraman cannot be a journalist or, professionally, cannot file a news story?
Who told him that the Editors at Channels Television were unaware that the story was filed by their cameraman? In any case, since Eno was aware that it was not the reporter that filed the story, why also expel him? Vicarious liability?
Eno, with his Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, tried to be diversionary and hit below the belt.
They claimed, without providing any proof, that the Premium Times Newspapers, whose Editor-in-Chief is Mr Mojeed, has an “antagonistic disposition” towards his government. The highly intolerant Governor Eno, founder of a Pentecostal church had also on November 30, 2025, banned masquerades which are part of the traditional religion and culture of the people. He claimed that some criminals disguised as masqurades.
But rather than go after the criminals, he criminalized the religion and culture claiming he wants a crime-free Christmas festival. So, he bans an African traditional festival for a Christian festival. His actions are as illogical as banning Christmas or Easter festivals because some people commit crimes under the guise of marking them.
Eno has gone as far as illegally using Commissioner of Police Baba Azare to clamp down on Akwa Ibom masquerades, disrespecting and dehumanizing them and parading them before the media as criminals.
In contrast, neigbouring Cross Rivers State is encouraging masquerades to show case African tradition as part of its famous Calabar Carnival. Responsible and responsive states like Lagos are also doing the same. In fact in the case of the latter, lots of efforts are being put to celebrate the Eyo masquerade Festival this December.
Governor Eno, who had climbed into the State House on the back of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP and has now taken refuge in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, disrespectfully, ordered all commissioners and political appointees to report to the APC.
However, the imperial Eno did not realize he was overreaching himself when he took on Offiong Offiong Aqua, the respected New York University Professor of Facio-Maxillary Surgery. If Eno had enquired into the background of Aqua, he would have realized he was up against a 69-year old veteran fighter who has spent the last forty five years living in Russia and United States, US after he was forced out of Nigeria by the Murtala-Obasanjo military regime.
Back in 1978, Prof, was the pioneer President of the University of Calabar Students Union and one of the four core student leaders who organized the mass peoples revolt against military rule. When the revolt was brutally suppressed, he was detained for months without trial and, eventually fled the country without a passport.
As an Akwa Ibom elder living in US, he has watched the scarce resources of the state annually wasted on jamborees in the name of attending the Akwa Ibom State Association of Nigeria, USA Inc, AKISAN convention. He had agonized over the sometimes, hundreds of state officials who fly annually to US under full state sponsorship for the jamboree. So this year, when he got information that Eno was going to lead over 100 delegates from Nigeria to the August 10, 2025 Convention, he decided to stop it.
In a podcast, he complained against the delegates: “They will fly business class, they will sleep in four star hotels, they will collect estacode in dollars that will triple what a teacher earns in one year in Akwa Ibom.”
He added: “ Akwa Ibom is crying and those in power are flying; people are dying and their leaders are dinning.”
Aqua called on the US to check visa abuse by denying such a huge number of delegates visa or entry and, help “stop ego tourism” He added: “Governor Umo Eno himself should stay home, lead from the trenches, fix Uyo, before flying.”
Governor Eno was enraged. He described Aqua’s podcast as: “a distasteful diatribe (and) his remarks reflect opportunism, bitterness, and a complete lack of constructive engagement” Eno announced that he would not be attending the convention in person and that only a “lean five person delegation” will represent the state. This he said is in line with: “ the administration’s commitment to prudence, responsibility, and focused governance.”
But Aqua laughed off the governor’s response, preferring to toast to: “Umo Eno, for his staying in Uyo and, strategic backpedal.” He joked that the official statement from the state government could not even spell his name, Offiong Aqua correctly but rather refered to him throughout as Offiong Akwa, adding: “Let the Governor learn how to spell” He said his is podcast, would truly have been disasteful to the government because it was built on facts.
He concluded: “We have saved the state (Akwa Ibom) millions of dollars…Nigerians, do to your own governors, what we have done to Governor Eno.”
In Professor Aqua, Governor Eno met a serious challenger; a veteran who will neither step back nor back away.
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