Inner City Press was suspended from United Nations briefings after confronting Ms Mohammed with human rights abuse of Sunday Igboho by the Buhari regime.
Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, has banned Inner City Press from covering United Nations briefings for questioning President Mohammadu Buhari regime’s attack on Sunday Igboho.
Inner City Press in a tweet on Tuesday disclosed that it was served a three weeks’ ban after its reporter inquired into the human rights violation of Sunday Igboho amongst and other developing rights issues.
“In UN briefing Inner City Press is banned from, by still (3 week) vacationing @StephDujarric , this is Deputy @UN_Spokesperson Farhan Haq – he has received its Qs by email, incl on #Nigeria / Igboho, #Qatar Al Marri, UNOPS, #Haiti #Cameroon, UN rapes,” Inner City Press tweeted.
“Inner City Press has asked: what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and DSG @AminaJMohammed on that a court in #Benin has ordered that a #Nigeria leader being held in the country be moved to prison: Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho,” it added.
The U.S. based media also inquired into the rosewood scandal of 2017 that indicted Ms Mohammed while serving as Nigeria’s minister of environment.
In 2017, the second-highest-ranking official of the United Nations was at the centre of an illegal rosewood trade between Nigeria and China.
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reported how Ms Mohammed authorised the export of endangered timber, rosewood, to enrich her pocket, China despite an existing ban in her last days as Nigeria’s minister for environment.
Ms Muhammed denied all corruption allegations uncovered by the investigation, and the UN did not immediately take any disciplinary measures against her over the scandal.
Ms Mohammed who served as the country’s minister of environment under the Buhari regime between 2015 and 2016 has been accused of failing to use her position at the UN to prevail over her former principal who has continued to initiate anti-rights policies, constantly violating the rights of Nigerians. However, she has continued to back Mr Buhari’s anti-democratic policies.
On July 1, operatives of the Nigerian security forces invaded the residence of Yoruba secessionist Sunday Igboho in Ibadan, Oyo State, shot their way in and destroyed properties.
The State Security Service later claimed responsibility amid the controversy, accusing Mr Igboho of stockpiling arms planning insurrection against the Nigerian state. Mr Igboho was then declared wanted.
Mr Igboho became a subject if government interest after he moved against marauding Fulani herdsmen who have been fingered in several atrocities such as kidnappings, rape of women and destruction of farmlands in his native Ibarapaland in southwestern Oyo State.
Oluyomi Koiki, spokesperson to Mr Igboho, told Peoples Gazette that two people were killed when the men in military uniform breached Mr Igboho’s residence in Soka, just south of the Ibadan city centre.
A request for comments to a spokesperson for UN was not immediately returned.
