His resignation from the media house is not unconnected with a story he wrote and published on 29 January, 2024 on an alleged involvement of the Chief of Staff to the President, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, in a financial sleaze.
The story, written by Segun Olatunji, who, until Wednesday, was the medium’s Editor, was entitled, “How Gbajabiamila attempted to corner $30bn, 66 houses traced to Sabiu.”
Olatunji, who was arrested, taken to Abuja and detained by security agents maintained his stance on the story on the involvement of Gbajabiamila in the alleged $30bn loot.
However, the Nation Newspapers, in its online publication, dated 8 May, 2024, stated that the Management of First Media Network.
The newspaper’s Management averred in a statement published by the Nation that it had discovered the said story contained falsehoods and fabricated stories.
When contacted by Newscoven.com over the issue, Olatunji said the apology by the First Media Network Limited was a decision of its Management and Publisher.
Maintaining his stance on the issue, he said unfolding events would justify him, just as he tendered his resignation from the newspaper publishing company.
Olatunji made this known in a letter dated 8 May, 2024, titled “Resignation as General Editor” and addressed to the Publisher/Managing Director, First Media Network Limited.
“In view of the latest development regarding the Gbajabiamila story and the stance of the company’s Management, I hereby tender my resignation as the General Editor of FirstNews.
“It has become imperative for me to resign my appointment for the safety of my person and my family,” he wrote in the resignation letter.
He, however, unequivocally stated in the resignation letter that “in no distant time, the truth will come out and then it’ll be my word against theirs.
“I hope the Management of First Media Network Limited, publishers of FirstNews newspaper, will be magnanimous enough to fully settle the one year outstanding salaries I am being owed, in no time.
“I thank the company’s management for giving me the opportunity to contribute my quota to its operations in the past four years.”
The Nation had, on same day, published the apology story with an headline “Alleged $30bn loot: First News apologises to Gbajabiamila”.
As published by the newspaper, the Management of FirstNews Online Newspaper apologised to Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, over the story accusing him conspiracy in the alleged $30 billion loot.
‘”The story, written by the medium’s editor, Segun Olatunji, was entitled, “How Gbajabiamila attempted to corner $30bn, 66 houses traced to Sabiu.
‘”The First News Management, in a statement on Wednesday, May 8, said it had discovered the said story contained “falsehoods and fabricated stories handed out to us as facts by a misleading source which was highly negligent on our part and for which we deeply tender an unreserved apology to the Chief of Staff to the President.
‘“As a responsible media organisation, we wish to state very categorically that we have no malicious intent towards the person of the Chief of Staff to the President or his office. Hence, our decision to tender an unreserved apology and the need to publish a retraction of the said story.”’
Recall that Segun Olatunji was arrested and detained in an underground cell by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
This was as the Publisher of FirstNews Online, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, had then said the case has been settled out of court.
But Olatunji was abducted in his home in the Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area of Lagos State in March.
The abduction elicited wild condemnation from the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and International Press Institute (IPI).
The arrest caused panic among the staff of the newspaper, even as the Olatunji’s wife then claimed that her husband was whisked away from their residence at about 6pm on the day of abduction without leaving any information as to where they were taking him to.
While Gbajabiamila demanded for apology and a retraction of the story, the Publisher of the FirstNews, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, had then insisted that Olatunji wrote a fact-based story on the allegation against the Chief of Staff to the President.
“The management of FirstNews is using this opportunity to call on the military high command and the security agencies to let us know his whereabouts and the reason why he was arrested.
“FirstNews (online & print) is a reputable independent digital news network that prides itself on being a frontline media outfit committed to engaging her world-class audience with factual, authentic, and credible information.
“We conduct our journalism activities with strict observance of the high standards of ethics, accountability, professionalism, and legality while exercising our rights to freedom of expression and information, all in a bid to ensure credible reporting of the news behind the news in Politics, Business, Education, Sport, Health, Entertainment and many more.
“If there was any infraction that bothers on national security, Olatunji should have first been formally invited rather than this Gestapo style of arrest that reminds of the dark days of the military era, where press freedom was stifled,” he was reported to have said then.
