Abdul Samad Rabiu.
Two Nigerian Journalists, Messrs. Fejiro Oliver and Desmond Ike-Chima, publishers of Secret Reporters and ENigeria Newspaper have accused Abdul Samad Rabiu-led BUA Group of blackmail and sponsoring a false media campaign against them.
According to the journalists who spoke to us, BUA Group is behind an alleged skewed narrative being circulated in a section of the media with the ill intention of tarnishing their hard-earned reputation and hoodwinking the discerning public.
This was after a detailed investigative report published on their news platforms, Secret Reporters and ENigeria Newspaper which went viral revealed the involvement of BUA Group under the watch of Rabiu in alleged forex dealing with the Central Bank of Nigeria while the now-ousted former Governor, Godwin Emefiele was at the helm of the bank.
According to Messrs. Oliver and Ike-Chima, the report which featured dates and account numbers when the transactions were carried out rattled the management of BUA who in a frantic move to save face, resorted to cheap blackmail tactics.
The Nigerian journalists made this known in a statement jointly signed and titled: “Right of Reply: Abdul Samad Rabiu’s BUA Group’s Sponsored Intimidation, Campaign of Calumny Against Journalists Shameful, Suggests Guilt-Fejiro, Desmond”, the statement reads:
Desmond-Ike-Chima-ENigeria-Newspaper
The press statement signed by the journalists reads, “It has come to our collective attention that a campaign of calumny, falsehood, and deliberate manipulation of truth is being spearheaded and circulated by Abdul Samad Rabiu-led BUA Group in a carefully choreographed half-truth rebuttal to achieve a skewed narrative to hoodwink the discerning public and also to tar innocent and hardworking investigative journalists.
“Curiously, the reference to BUA’s forex activities published in selected dailies does not represent the entire picture as it was only a smokescreen to further obfuscate the matter
“Typically, we would have opted to remain mute and not dignify them with a response on this issue since we have solid evidence to back our report; importantly too, the trove of documents within our arsenal wreaks of stench as our next publications would reveal, but these are precarious times when silence is classed as acquiescence; uninteresting times when dogs eat fellow dogs with reckless abandon.
“Consequently, it is pertinent to state that Abdul Samad Rabiu-led BUA Group has failed to address the crux of the matter, and rather than resort to name-calling and blackmail as a way of avoiding the underlining issue raised in our report, we challenge them to come clean as we will never be cowered into silence by any individual(s) or corporations in whatever guise they come.
“Conclusively, we make bold to say that we are not interested in trafficking in a conversation to nowhere as the auspicious appointment of Mr Osayande Obazee-led investigation into the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the years will reveal a pandora box of financial sleaze involving BUA and other Corporations that have shortchanged the Nigerian economy. And for the avoidance of doubts, we stand by our story,” the statement on BUA Group blackmail added.