On May 11, 2015 Mr. Ubale Musa, a correspondent of the German Radio, Deutsche Welle, was bundled out of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja for asking visiting President Idriss Derby of Chad an embarrassing question. His media accreditation tag was also withdrawn.
Musa had asked President Derby about the relationship between the multi-national task force fighting the Islamist Boko Haram insurgents in Lake Chad and the South African mercenaries fighting along with them. The Chadian President’s response was that he had no information concerning mercenaries from South Africa.
After President Derby left, State House security operatives picked Musa, collected his accreditation tag and drove him out of the Presidential Villa. When he complained that some of his work tools were still inside the Press Gallery, the security operatives led him to the hall to retrieve his belongings and led him out of the Villa again.
When State House correspondents met Dr. Reuben Abati, the president’s spokesman, on the matter, he assured them that the issue would be resolved appropriately but Musa’s accreditation has not yet been restored.
