The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has condemned the invasion of the premises of the Sun Newspapers by heavily armed operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday morning.

In a statement released by the President of NGE, Funke Egbemode, the guild noted that the operatives disrupted the circulation of the media outfit during the invasion which lasted close to an hour.

It said the unwarranted siege on the company subjected the company’s staff to crude intimidation, psychological as well as emotional trauma.

“The latest action of the EFCC on a newspaper house is a sad reminder of the dark years of military dictatorship and a deliberate effort to muzzle the press,” the statement said.

“As a statutory agency birthed by an Act of Parliament in a democracy, we had expected the EFCC to explore civil means of addressing perceived infraction by a critical stakeholder in the Nigerian democratic project.”

Citing the expulsion of. Mr. Olalekan Adetayo, a State House Correspondent of the Punch newspapers from the Aso Rock Villa by Bashir Abubakar, the Chief Security Officer to President Muhammadu  Buhari, the guild noted that the latest affront on the Sun by the EFCC is another attempt by a section of the nation’s security agencies to gag the free press.

The NGE also wondered why the anti-graft agency would act ahead of a case that is pending before a court of competent jurisdiction, describing the action as a major threat to the sustenance and existence of Nigeria’s young democracy.

It would be recalled that EFCC operatives had besieged the corporate headquarters of the newspaper based on a pending order of forfeiture but the management of Sun Neswpapers disagreed, alleging that the raid was carried out because the EFCC had accused them of publishing pro-Biafra, Boko Haram and Niger-Delta militants stories.

In a related development, the Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), in  a separate statement signed by its President, Nduka Obaigbena, described EFCC’s action as a self-help mission and voyage to intimidate journalists, criminalize journalism and cower free speech.

The Association expressed concern that the EFCC, which was created by an Act of the National Assembly, would be carrying out raids as though it is above the law that created it.

“It is our considered view that the EFCC, being a state institution and a creation of the law cannot be above the law,” the statement said.

“Instead of lawsuits, the EFCC operatives raided the newspaper offices to revive a 10-year-old interim order of forfeiture that is already before an appellate court,” it added.

The association therefore implored the Federal Government to intervene and put a stop to the excesses of the anti-graft agency whose actions in raiding the newspaper house is unconstitutional and futile.