Lamin AMS Jobarteh, a solicitor and legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of The Gambia, has warned The Point and Daily News newspapers to apologise to the Brikama Area Council for what he called, the various false and baseless publications intended to tarnish the image of the Brikama Area Council (BAC).

In a dispatch issued to this paper, Lawyer Jobarteh warned the said papers to publish an apolody and a corrigendum on all the allegations made in not more than a week from Friday, September 4th, 2009.

The said publications were captioned: 'Financial scam buried at BAC', published on August 27-30th, 2009; 'More revelations on the BAC scandal', published on Monday, August 31st-1st September, 2009, by the Daily News; 'BAC refutes D54M financial scandal', dated Monday 31st 2009; and 'BAC under fire again', dated Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 by the Point and Daily News newspapers respectively.

Below we reproduce the full text of Lawyer Jobarteh's ultimatum, relayed to this paper by Serign Modou Joof, public relations officer -BAC:
I act for the management and staff of Brikama Area Council, Brikama, Western Region of the Republic of The Gambia on the above captioned subject matters published by your papers.

My clients' instructions are that the allegations made by your various papers are not only false and baseless but intended to tarnish their image and reputation.  The nature of your publication has affected the public peace and tranquillity of the people they serve, thereby causing fear and alarm in them.  It is regrettable to imagine that you would publish information of such a nature without resort or recourse to the verification of the said allegations.  I would however refer to a few amongst others some of the allegations and statements therein your various publications which are as follows:

The Daily News
The Daily News in its publication dated Monday, August 31st - 1st September 2009 and captioned MORE REVELATIONS ON THE BAC SCANDAL BY SANA AND ALIEU printed the picture of the Honourable minister of Local Government with some various allegations without any reference to him or stating any reason for the printing of his picture. The said printing of his picture for all intent and purposes make him appear to have had a hand in such false and baseless allegations.  Such an act is most reprehensible and irresponsible of you.

The Daily News continues to receive startling revelations with regards to the financial scam and managerial problems that have been affecting the capacity of the council to deliver over the years.

The article further refers to your sources to have referred to fifteen markets in the Western Region, which are alleged to be owned by individuals.  That your source cited instances where all revenues generated including market fees for over one year were never paid to the council, adding that some markets are managed like "state within a state without any approving authority involved." The question here is how reliable is your source.  Assuming without conceding that your source is reliable would it not have been more ideal to resort to or from abundance of caution take recourse to the verification of the said allegations, which would enable you to hear the other side of the story.

Some executive officers of the council have been singled out to undertake illicit deals at the expense of the council.  While others like one Mr Ousman Gaye "in his capacity as acting chairman of Brikama Area Council has caused a lot of revenue loss to the council," the article further states several allegations, which have not been substantiated nor verified from the management and staff of the Brikama Area Council.  It did not mention any specific executive officer, leaving in the minds of the public more particularly the people they serve and collect revenues from, cause to speculate.  This is most unfair.

The use of quotation marks in your article clearly shows that you are quoting from a source verbatim which from any stretch of imagination ought to have been revealed for reasons of posterity and fairness to those affected.  The question here is how authentic and true are the allegations given by your source more particularly where such allegations have not been shifted and verified from the management and staff of the Brikama Area Council or at the least those affected.

Again the Daily News in its publication date Thursday August 27th - 30th captioned FINANCIAL SCAM BURIED AT BAC BY SANA CAMARA & ALIEU DARBOE, stated that "The Daily News has uncovered a mountain of financial scam that has been threatening the very foundation of the Brikama Area Council since 2004, seriously affecting the revenue collection, projects implementation and overall delivery of services.  The article further states several allegations ranging from the council's financial inability to pay salaries, indiscipline, lack of rates and taxes.

That D42, 186, 000. 00 could not be verified. That there is no financial system in place in the Physical Planning Office of the council alone. That there are indications that the assistant director of finance and junior clerks who are said to have been assigned his major responsibility of being interviewed to ascertain such allegations; one would conclude that this has not been verified or ascertained for the truth of the allegations, which by any stretch of imagination is again reprehensible and irresponsible on your part.  Since you have chosen to publish, you are duty bound to accurately inform the public on a balanced dissemination of information for their consumption.

The Point newspaper
Just as in the case of the Daily News in its publication dated Monday, August 31st - 1st September, 2009 and captioned MORE REVELATIONS ON THE BAC SCANDAL BY SANA AND ALIEU, your paper in its article dated Tuesday, September 01, 2009, and captioned BAC UNDER FIRE AGAIN has also printed the picture of the Honourable minister of Local Government with some various allegations without any reference to him or stating any reason for the printing of his picture.

Similarly, the said printing of his picture for all intent and purposes makes him appear to have had a hand in such false and baseless allegations.  Such an act is most reprehensible and irresponsible of you. Contrary to the publication by the Daily News, your paper stated that the recent media reports unearthed an alleged financial misappropriation of over D54 million at the council.

In your editorial, you stated that "the alleged impropriety against the top echelons of the Brikama Area Council (BAC) is disturbing.  At least fifty-four million dalais is alleged to have been unaccounted for, or gone missing from the coffers of the Brikama Area Council since 2004.  According to the scoop, BAC is weakened by embezzlement, incompetence, nepotism, negligence and dereliction of duty top to bottom.

The above contradictory statement in both papers/articles leaves serious doubts in the minds of your riders as to what to believe.  Without going further, it is pertinent to note that if you believe in the truth of what you have published then why did two of your reporters walk into the office of the Brikama Area Council and made apologies for the said publications?

I must say that the immediate and predominant purpose of the allegations therein your various articles are to excite in your audience disaffection towards the Brikama Area Council and to further tarnish the image and reputation of innocent people at the council.  It must be borne in mind that the circumstances of your publication and utterances without prove and veracity from the management and disaffection in the minds of your readers thereby intending the natural consequences of your irresponsible acts.

This calls to mind the fact that in your calculated and malicious device and with deliberate intention to injure the management and staff of the council, you wrote with reckless indifference to truth or falsity and the defamatory character or otherwise of the allegations made against the management and staff of the council and by inference to the Honourable minister of Local Government by printing his picture without any reference to him.  You did not and if you did, you failed to make diligent inquiry as to the correctness of your allegations.  You have breached the ethics of your journalist profession.

Finally your physical appearance at the Brikama Area Council and the apologies made thereof are not enough.  Since you have chosen to publish such unfounded allegations, my instructions are that without prejudice to any action that may be taken against your papers, I am to demand from you an unqualified apology and a rejoinder on all the allegations made in not more than a week from today.  This must be done on the front page of your papers.