TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY………………………………………………..
3
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………… 4
COMMITTEE INVESTIGATIONS……………………………………… 5
State Attorney’s Office………………………………………….
5
County Executive’s Office……………………………………… 5
Prince George’s County Police Department………………...
5
The Sentinel……………………………………………………..
6
TASK FORCE FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS………………………… 7
RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………………..
8
APPENDICES…………………………………………………………..
11
A1 (The Sentinel article of February 10, 2005)……………..
12
A2 (Mr. Udejiofor’s letter to Mr. Kapiloff)…………………….
14
A3 (Mr. Korionoff’s response to the Task Force)…………… 16
A4 (Mr. Agwumezie’s letter to Mr. Keary)…………………… 16
A5 (Transcript of Mr. Chigbu’s discussion
With the editor of The Sentinel)……………………… 17
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The NIDO-DC Task Force on Anti-Nigerian Media Relations recommends the
followingafter a three-week long investigation of the newspaper report
titled “Mafia, Nigerian OrganizedCrime Play Role in Auto Thefts
in County”, which was published in the Prince George’s Sentinelnewspaper
of February 10, 2005:
1. That NIDO should request The Sentinel publish an appropriate retraction
of the saidstory.
2. That NIDO should request The Sentinel provide space for Nigerian ethnic
participation inthe newspaper as a demonstration of good faith in order
to repair the bad faith that pervades through the careless and malicious
article.
3. That NIDO should request The Sentinel donate to a Nigerian organization
such as theNigerian Soccer League (NSL), Nigerian church, among others.
This shall be a demonstration of good faith.
4. That NIDO should mobilize faith-based groups, churches, Jesus houses,
and similar Nigerian-interest groups to besiege The Sentinel organization
to carry out the requests listed in #1 and #2 above. This mobilization
should take place through telephone calls, mass emailing, and letters
to The Sentinel editor and other County newspaper editors.
5. That NIDO should publish the findings of this committee in a major
news medium to alert a wider group of people and serve as a notice to
news media that Nigeria will no longer tolerate the media bashing.
6. That NIDO should retain the right to a legal recourse as an option.
The Task Force conducted an extensive investigation that included interviews
with
representatives of the County Executive Office, the State Attorney’s
Office, the Prince George’s
County Police Department, and The Sentinel newspaper. The investigations
did not find any
support for The Sentinel story of February 10, 2005.
INTRODUCTION
The NIDO-DC Task Force on Anti-Nigerian Media Relations was formed on
March 5,
2005 following an adverse publication titled “Mafia, Nigerian Organized
Crime Play Role in
Auto Thefts in County” which appeared in The Sentinel newspaper
in Prince George’s County on
February 10, 2005 (see A1). NIDO’s DC CTC Chapter Secretary, Mr.
Chuks Eleonu, appointed
the following as members of the Committee: Charles Agwumezie, Chairman;
Adeola Akindana;
Paula Ajisefinni; Emmanuel Chigbu; Brian Udejiofor; and Tunde Babayale.
The Task Force
invited Dr. Chuka Onwumechili to assist the committee.
Amazingly, the main text of The Sentinel article of February 10, 2005
made no mention
of any Nigerian involvement in auto thefts. Thus, the question became:
Why did The Sentinel
decide to malign Nigeria through a story headline on a criminal activity?
A NIDO member, Mr.
Brian Udejiofor, wrote to Mr. Mark Kapiloff, Associate Publisher of The
Sentinel, and demanded
answers (see A2). Mr. Udejiofor then brought the issue to NIDO’s
attention after Mr. Kapiloff
failed to provide satisfactory answers as to the validity of the front
page libelous publication.
COMMITTEE INVESTIGATIONS
The committee swung into action on March 11 by pursuing several investigative
angles. These angles include discussions with the State Attorney’s
Office, the County
Executive’s Office, the County Police Department, and The Sentinel.
Below is a brief
discussion of each investigation.
State Attorney’s Office (Prince George’s County)
The Task Force Chairman, Mr. Agwumezie contacted the State Attorney’s
Office.
Mr. Ramon V. Korionoff, Communications Director of the State Attorney’s
Office,
denied that a joint summary was issued by both the State Attorney and
County Executive
Offices on auto theft, especially as it pertains to the Nigerian community
in Prince
George’s County (see A3). Note that this is a key aspect of The
Sentinel’s story.
County Executive’s Office
The Prince George’s County Executive Office is yet to provide a
written official
response to NIDO-DC Task Force Inquiry. Task Force Chairman, Mr. Agwumezie
contacted Mr. James Keary, Communications Director of the County Executive’s
Office
requesting all papers or publications and in particular a joint summary
released by the
County Executive’s Office naming Nigeria and other countries as
organized mafia group
who play a role in auto theft in the County” (see A4).
The County Police Department
Task Force member, Mr. Tunde Babayale, talked with several officers of
the
Prince George’s County Police Department (PGCPD) including Lt.
Steve Yuen, Sgt.
Anne Spivey, and Ms. Joyce Beck. The Police Department found nothing
in their files or
record to support the story written by The Sentinel.
Lt. Edward Walters (PGCPD Internal Affairs) also confirmed to Task Force
member, Mr. Brian Udejiofor, that the Department does not keep statistical
profiles based
on ethnicity. Commander Lt. Sean Carney of the Auto Theft Division also
categorically
denied any records of and/or any ongoing investigations pertaining to
a Nigerian theft
ring under his command.
The Sentinel
Mr. Emmanuel Chigbu called The Sentinel and spoke with Mr. Vance Swansi,
Editor, who admitted that the story was erroneous and claimed that the
newspaper had
published a retraction. He indicated that he would have the newspaper’s
attorney handle
future discussions with the NIDO Task Force because he sensed that the
Task Force
would litigate the matter. He, however, offered to rectify the problem
by making
newspaper space available for Nigeria-interest stories. A transcript
of Mr. Chigbu’s
conversation with Mr. Swansi, the editor of The Sentinel is included
in the appendices
(see A5).
TASK FORCE FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS
The Task Force made several findings after the detailed and varied investigations
described in the previous sections. The findings are as follows:
1. That the story was careless, libelous, unfounded, libelous, and malicious.
2. That the Prince George’s County Police Department has no record
of any
investigation involving a Nigerian auto theft ring.
3. That the Prince George’s County Police Department keeps no ethnic-based
records related to crimes.
4. That while The Sentinel has published a retraction, the prominence
and size of
such retraction is grossly inadequate to erase the damage engendered
by the
previous publication; hence the said retraction is not as conspicuous
as the
original publication.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In light of the facts and circumstances surrounding the publication,
the subsequent
exhaustive investigation, wide consultations and deliberate consideration
of all competing
interest, it is the opinion of the committee that The Sentinel did not
rely on any credible
evidence or information source in its publication of February 10, 2005.
The Sentinel’s
careless and malicious article has the capability of not only injuring
the Nigerian
community in the county; it has the potential of inciting Prince George’s
citizens to hate
the Nigerian ethnic community in the county. The additional consequences
of such
publication cannot be adequately measured at this time. The longer the
wait, the more the
damage seeps through the Prince George’s community with immeasurable
consequences
for Nigerians. Thus, NIDO must act quickly in order to mitigate further
damage. It is
therefore, this committee’s recommendation that:
1. NIDO Officially Demand for Retraction: The Nigerians In the Diaspora
Organization (NIDO) through its appropriate channels should, without
further delay,
make an official demand to The Sentinel for the retraction of the February
10, 2005
article in the same format and medium that was used to publish the damaging
and
libelous article. The NIDO must make it clear that retraction short of
front page article, in
same fonts and format is unacceptable.
2. Nigerians Contribution to the Paper: NIDO should further demand that
The Sentinel
profile some of the successful businesses and/or individuals in the county
or provide
space for Nigerian editorials and/or contributions of articles as a demonstrated
sign of
Good faith in order to repair the bad faith in the careless article.
In addition, NIDO should
request that The Sentinel donate to a Nigerian organization such as the
Nigerian Soccer
League (NSL), Nigerian church, among others. This shall be a further
demonstration of
good faith.
3. That The Sentinel be given sufficient time to act on the initial demand
and where not
met, NIDO should without further delay initiate massive pressure through
its members
and Nigerians everywhere to demand that they be met. NIDO may decide
to mobilize
faith-based groups, churches, Jesus houses, and similar Nigerian-interest
groups to
besiege The Sentinel organization to carry out the requests listed in
paragraphs 1 and 2
above. The actions should include but not limited to: coordinated calls,
emails, letters to
the editor and any other means necessary and legal.
4. Publication of Committee Findings/Recommendations: The committee further
recommends that this report be published in a major news medium e.g The
Washington
Post. This will alert a wider group of Nigerians and United States citizens
of this
particular issue as well as serve as a notice to other news media that
Nigerians will no
longer tolerate the media bashing based ion unfounded information.
5. Legal Action as Last Resort: Nigerian image in the United States has
long been
maligned and smeared in various ways by various news agencies in this
country, which
has gone unchallenged for decades. Nigerians must be encouraged to take
drastic action,
including legal action, in order to repair the damage done to it by any
and including The
Sentinel newspaper. Therefore, this case presents an opportunity to fight
back.
Assuming all effort to settle this matter fails, Nigerians should be
prepared to take
further action to compel The Sentinel to act. Litigation might not be
an easy one because
of the threshold required in order to sue. To have a standing to sue,
a party must
demonstrate actual or imminent harm traceable to the defendant. Here
the article did not
point to a particular individual and only referenced Nigeria in the caption.
To
demonstrate a particularized injury or harm may be tenuous, except if
there are Nigerians
who have suffered harm or injury because of the publication.
An alternative argument may be that Nigerians were held in false light
by the
article. While false light does not require showing of actual and/or
particularized injury, it
still requires that the alleged false light be directed to a particular
individual or group of
individuals. The committee is aware of case laws that support false light
theory when
libelous or slanderous material point to a particular individual or group
of individuals.
The committee is unaware of case laws and in fact learned during course
of this
investigation that the courts disfavor acknowledging standing based on
defamatorystatements that point to a whole country as in this case. It
is therefore this committee’s
recommendation that NIDO seek legal opinion before proceeding or taking
any legal
action against The Sentinel.
6. Cost of Legal Action: The committee is without information, at this
time, as to the
cost of legal action against The Sentinel. However, it is the understanding
of the
committee that no firm will take such case on contingency basis.
APPENDICES
A2
14
February 10, 2005
Mr. Mark Kapiloff
Associate Publisher
The Prince George’s Sentinel
Dear Mr. Kapiloff,
As a concerned resident of Prince George’s County and a Citizen
of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, I felt an obligation to respond to this article. As we all know,
Nigeria is a country that has
had a tarnished image. With a population of in excess of 120 million
people, a minority of its
citizenry have involved themselves in criminal conduct such as narcotics
possession, credit card
fraud and advance fee fraud for a number of years. Some of the tarnished
image of Nigeria has
been brought on by a small segment of Nigerians and others perpetuated
by irresponsible
journalism such as Ms. Jackie Kucinich’s article in the Sentinel’s
lead article Vol.16, No 11 of
February 9-Febuary 15, 2005.
After reading this sensational lead cover in bold print “Mafia,
Nigerian Organized Crime Play
Role in Auto Thefts in County”, it was perplexing. My initial question
was which county?
Montgomery? Howard? Fairfax? These are all counties that Nigerians live
in. It then dawned on
me that it was our own Prince George’s County. A county with so
many well to do Nigerians from
prestigious occupations—doctors, lawyers, scientists and small
business owners, such as myself--
that stealing cars to supplement their incomes just did not sound like
a likely motive for her
assertions.
The article provides no substantive data between Nigerians. I know who
are law-abiding citizens
and leaders in their respective communities to such organized crime syndication.
As long as I
have lived in Prince George’s County, auto theft has been a continuous
problem. In her article,
the increase in auto theft is associated with professional “chop
shops”. The real question is how
many Nigerians are in that sort of business to draw the conclusion that
Ms. Kucinich has written?
At the end of the article, it is conceded that the ability to prosecute
was part of the actual
problem and juvenile offenders should be educated “that it’s
not cool to steal a car” according to
Delegate Barbara Flush from the 21 District.
Again, I see no foundation in this article to draw the linkage there’s
a Nigerian Organized Crime
Syndicate. Where and what is the data to support the linkage? Before
writing this article, did Ms.
Kucinich perform any research about the actual number of Nigerians that
have been arrested and
prosecuted for auto theft in Prince George’s County compared with
any other nationalities, races,
or ethnicities?
Upon sharing the article with several Nigerian and non-Nigerian friends,
who all are residents of
Prince George’s County (one of them an aide within the administration
of County Executive Jack
Johnson), they where outraged by such a fact-less based summation in
her article. I have
A2
forwarded the article to the proper officials at the Nigerian Embassy
in Washington, DC for them
to address.
We as Nigerian in the Diasporas will not continue to tolerate the continued
negativity that
uninformed individuals continue to spread and perpetuate about our homeland
and us.
Regards,
Ikenna Udejiofor
A3
Subject: RE: Sentinel Article regarding Nigeria
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 17:25:33 –0500
From: "Korionoff, Ramon V."
To: "charlie agwumezie"
CC:
ajisefin@aol.com, babayale@aol.com, brianudejiofor@hotmail.com, echigbu@verizongni.com,
vivianola@yahoo.com
Mr. Agwumezie:
Thank you for your email. Mr. Ivey, the State's Attorney for Prince George's
County, would be
happy to meet with you and your group. Please let me know when your next
three meetings
will be so that we can work it onto his calendar.
Your inference that I have not made time for you is disconcerting as
I have returned four phone
calls to you. I have even been ready to give information to you while
you were in your car but
you did not have a writing implement. However, we will make every endeavor
to satisfy your
requests at clarification on the auto theft matters as presented in the
Feb. 10, 2005, Prince
George's Sentinel.
Your inquiries with Mr. Vince Swanson of The Prince George's Sentinel
Newspaper have not
yielded specifics. I suggest you ask for the specific name of the report
of which he speaks. As
of this time, there has not been a joint summary issued by the County
Executive and the State's
Attorney regarding auto theft, especially as it pertains to the Nigerian
community in Prince
George's County. You should direct your inquiries to the Office of the
County Executive as it
pertains to this report.
Meanwhile, I will request an official letter on letterhead from Mr. Ivey
upon receipt of an official
letter from you on your group's letterhead asking about the so-called
joint summary report and
NIDO's next three meeting dates.
The Nigerian community has contributed a great deal to our cultural,
economic and social fabric
in Prince George's County. We hope the community continues to flourish
and grow. Together
we can make Prince George's County a safer place for all of us.
You may address the letter to The Honorable Glenn F. Ivey, State's Attorney
for Prince
George's County, 14735 Main St., Room #349 M, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.
Please cc me
on this letter so that I can follow up.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ramón V. Korionoff
Communications Director
Glenn F. Ivey State's Attorney for Prince George's County
A4
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 19:46:31 -0800 (PST)
From: "charlie agwumezie"
Subject: Sentinel Article of Feb 10, 05 regarding Nigeria
To: kpeary@co.pg.md.us, cagwumezie@yahoo.com
Dear Mr. Keary,
My name is Charles Agwumezie. I am the committee chairperson representing
Nigerians in this
matter. Thanks for your prompt replying to my phone call on Friday.
As a follow up, you requested that I send you this mail to enable you
send to me all papers or
publications and in particular a joint summary released by your office
with the county or state
attorney office naming Nigeria and other countries as organized mafia
group who play role in
auto theft in P.G.
While sentinel claims that this joint summary was its source for the
publication of Feb. 10, 2005,
we are yet to obtain a copy of the joint summary. We therefore emplore
you to forward such
joint summary if one exit or to officially state if there was no joint
summary released by you and
the state or county attorney office.
The joint summary, Sentinel claimed was on P.G. Auto Theft Initiative
Summary published Dec.
2004 and was 6-7 pages long. We will appreciate a written response in
official letter head
mailed to 6334 Kinsey Ter. Lanham MD 20706.
Thanks for your anticipated cooperation in this matter
Charlie Agwumezie
Chairperson
A 18
A journalistic Conversation with the Editor of Sentinel Newspaper
(For information gathering purposes only)
About 10:45 A.M., March 15, 2005
Using the telephone number: 301-306-9500
Emmanuel: Hello, Good morning, may I speak to Mr. Vince, the Editor ?
Receptionist: what is your name and phone number for him to call you
back ?
Emmanuel: Do you mean he is not available ?
Receptionist: Yes, he is not available at this time.
Emmanuel: But I left him a message on Thursday last week, as well as
Monday this
week, when can he get back to me ? By the way, what is your office address
?
Receptionist: Wait, hold on.
Mr. Vince: Hello, how can I help you ?
Emmanuel: Mr. Vince, have you not been receiving my messages ? Well,
this is Mr.
Chigbu, the Guy that invited you to the town Hall meeting regarding the
libelous
publication you had on your front page against Nigerian Community.
Mr. Vince: I am sorry, but I did not get your email to send you the archived
copies of the
two publications. Besides, I have received so many calls for something
we have already
retracted. But what can I do for you at this time ?
Emmanuel: Mr. Vince, while I do not want to comment on your retraction
which is not
as conspicuously captioned on your front page as that of the intended
defamation, I am
only here to discuss and collect verifiable source of your information
so that we may
exonerate your paper in closing this case.
Mr. Vince: Oh! No, I cannot point to a definite source of that information,
except that it
is something that came out of both DA’s Office, County Executive
Press Briefing Office
and Police Dept. which is shared to reporters, I guess, it came from
their taskforce
program which included other Police departments such as New York, DC,
etc.
Emmanuel: Mr. Vince, it appears we are just chasing a wild goose here.
I mean, you
want to tell me that if you are called to testify as to the validity
of your information with
which you intend to tarnish the image of a nation’s community here
in PG County, you
could not point to where you got that information as an Editor?
A5
Mr. Vince: I have told you over and over, that I do not have or know
the exact source of
that information and that’s all I have to say. It is up to your
community to investigate
that information from the County offices, DA’s office and Police
departments. I will
refer this case to our Attorney and would not say a word about it any
more.
Emmanuel: Okay, may I have the name and phone number to your attorney
for further
discussion on this issue hence you wouldn’t.
Mr. Vince: No Sir, this is the internal legal team of the paper, if you
should sue us, then
they will be available to you. After all, we have retracted the publication,
as the law
requires us to do in a situation like this. We never like to get involved
in anything that
can be construed as damaging to any ethnic community or country for that
matter.
Emmanuel: Mr. Vince, I take it that you have refused to cooperate in
an attempt to strike
a closure to this matter but thank you for your time anyway.
Mr. Vince: Anytime. You must understand, I have entertained discussions
on this issue
with you simply because I discovered from talking to you earlier last
two weeks ago, that
you are journalistically knowledgeable about what we do and I expect
you to consider
potentials for publication errors and corrections that follows it. Look
at the Washington
Post today and see how many corrections they do publicize in each day.
We both hang the phones at the same time as conversation came to an unhappy
ending.
Especially, he was not happy hearing my keyboarding (typing) of his statements
to me.
Emmanuel A. Chigbu, former freelance journalist, Punch Nigeria Ltd.
Note: We need to activate plan B & C. We must get to the source of
this derogatory story
leading to the front page publication by Sentinel Newspaper.
