The United States has granted asylum to former Africa Independent Television (AIT) presenter, Ohimai Amaize, who fled the country in 2019 during a clash between AIT and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Ohimai who left the country in June 2019 disclosed this in a statement released by him on Sunday January 19th.
It would be recalled that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had on June 6 suspended the license of DAAR Communications over tweets from Nigerians used on AIT morning show, Kakaaki Social which was anchored by Amaize.
Director-General of NBC, Modibbo Kawu, said the action was taken for failure of the TV and radio stations to abide by the broadcasting code.
NBC in a letter addressed to the Group Managing Director of Daar Communications Group entitled as, “Lack of Responsibility in use of content from social media,” described the Kakaaki social edition of May 22, 2019, as “treasonable”
Amaize, whose life was reportedly under threat by security agents, left the country for New York life and was joined by his wife weeks later.
In his statement announcing the asylum granted to him, Amaize, wrote;
I have just received notice of my asylum approval. My forced exit from Nigeria last year has been a very traumatizing experience for me and my family. I am very happy and I thank God for this development. I can now live and carry on with my life without the fear of being persecuted by the Muhammadu Buhari regime for the opinions that I express or the work that I do as a journalist. Of course, I miss Nigeria so much because there is no place like home. I hope that in the not too distant future, Nigeria will return to a true democracy where a free press, freedom of expression and the rule of law are respected.”
The journalist appreciated those who supported him, especially AIT, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights First and his American lawyers, Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP.
