A Nigerian newspaper has condemned a former government minister for what it termed as a verbal assault on its journalist who had questioned the source of funding of his tour of the southern Cross Rivers state.
Femi Fani-Kayode, who served as the aviation minister in 2006, took offence to the questioning and was filmed giving an angry response.
A video clip of the incident has circulated widely on social media:
The Daily Trust newspaper, in a statement by its editor-in-chief, said the reporter had “simply sought clarification and information, like good journalism should”.
It said it would hold Mr Fani-Kayode accountable if anything happened to the reporter.
But the politician has denied threatening the reporter and accused him of “being part of premeditated plan to embarrass him”.
