The Premium Times has called for immediate release of its reporter, Samuel Ogundipe, who it said was detained on Tuesday by the Nigerian Police over a report.
Although the online media outfit did not give details of what the offence of the reporter was to warrant his arrest, it noted in a press statement signed by its Publisher, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi that arresting and detaining Ogundipe because he did not disclose his information source was in violation of his professional rights.
“On the day the Nigerian presidency was complaining about the excesses of a unit in the police, the same unit was forcing a PREMIUM TIMES journalist to disclose his source.
“The Nigerian police, through the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Tuesday arrested and detained the reporter.
“Apart from Mr Ogundipe, this newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief, Musikilu Mojeed, and its education correspondent, Azeezat Adedigba, were also briefly detained and manhandled by the police at the SARS headquarters in Abuja.
“Ms Adedigba was later released after about three hours of detention.
“Mr Mojeed and Mr Ogundipe were driven from the SARS headquarters in Abuja to the IGP Monitoring Unit at Force Headquarters where Mr Ogundipe was made to write a statement.
“At the Force headquarters, a Deputy Commissioner of Police at the IGP Monitoring Unit, Sani Ahmadu, was heard directing lawyers to “rush to court” to obtain a warrant to detain Mr Ogundipe.
“They repeatedly asked the journalist to disclose his source for a story published by this newspaper.
“The story, also published by other media, revealed a letter written by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on last week’s siege to the National Assembly by security officials.
“When Mr Mojeed alerted the DCP that it was wrong compelling a journalist to disclose a source of information, the police officer became furious threatening the journalist,” the media outfit’s statement explained.
The DCP, according to Mojeed, said “the police was acting within the law and that Samuel would remain detained unless he discloses those who gave him the document.”
The Premium Times management said the police were yet to offer a coherent reason for their denial of the reporter his freedom.
“Premium Times especially condemns the Gestapo manner in which the Nigeria Police have taken Mr Ogundipe into custody and hereby demands his immediate and unconditional release.
“His detention is in gross violation of Mr Ogundipe’s rights, the Nigerian laws and all democratic tenets; and is an unacceptable abridgement of his citizenship and professional privileges,” Premium Times said in the statement signed by its Publisher, Dapo Olorunyomi.
