By Imelda Osayande
Benin – The Chief Judge of Edo, Justice Esohe Ikpomwen, has commended journalists for their courageous and selfless service to the country.
Ikpomwen gave the commendation on Friday during an advocacy visit to her office in Benin by members of the Freedom of Information Counsel (FoIC) to mark the World Press Freedom Day.
She said: “The press has vital role to play in the society that you cannot undermine.
“I commend journalists’ boldness and sacrifice in the cause of performing their duty to the nation.
“Many people know what to say but no voice to say it. It is only the journalists who do it for them.
“If you are not free, you are in bondage and no one wants to be in bondage.”
The Chief Judge, who noted that ‘’the judiciary is the hope of common man’’, said the journalists must ensure the realisation of that aim.
Earlier, the Executive Director of (FoIC), Mr President Aigbokhan, said that 263 journalists were arrested and 43 others died violently worldwide in 2017.
“This statistics highlights the importance of an enabling legal environment for free, independent and plural press in Nigeria,” Aigbokhan said. (NAN)
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