Media
…showed no warrant for his arrest, nor disclose his offence
IT was another sad day for Nigerian journalists as Madi Onuorah, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Globalupfront Newspaper (Online), was kidnapped by men of the Nigerian Police Force.
Realnews reports that the incident happened when about 10 fully-armed policemen stormed his residence in Lugbe, Abuja, in two Sienna buses on Wednesday, May 22 around 6pm.
Madu was whisked away in the presence of his wife and children who fruitlessly demanded from the police why they were arresting the head of the family.
The police have seized Onuorah’s phones, thereby completely cutting him off from communication with people, including his family members.
He was not even allowed to contact his lawyer or any of his relations before he was whisked away to the Lugbe police station by the stern looking operatives.
To make sure Onuorah did not get attention or bail, the policemen who arrested him, though not of the Lugbe Police Station, simply dumped him at the Station and left no traces for friends and family members to reach them.
A statement by the management of Globalupfront Newspapers copied to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ),
Nigerian Guild of Editors, and sent to Media Houses called on the police to immediately release Madu.
The four-point demand of the statement reads:
1. That the Police should release Mr. Madu Onuorah immediately and unconditionally.
2. That Mr. Onuorah is an experienced Journalist, former Abuja Bureau Chief of The Guardian Newspaper, former Managing-Director of The AUTHORITY Newspaper, who operates within the ambit of the law.
3. That anybody who has any issue against Mr. Onuorah should approach the law court and not turn the Nigerian Police into a Gestapo outfit that bullies a man in the presence of his wife and children.
4. That any second Mr. Onuorah spends in police custody constitutes a serious infringement against his fundamental rights and a continuation of the assault on freedom of expression that has become frequent occurrence in Nigeria recently.
Realnews reports that Madu will be the third journalist that security agencies have abducted in the last two months.
A.
-May 23, 2024 @ 12:38 GMT|
Tags: Madi Onuorah
