•NUJ urges immediate release of colleague
From Molly Kilete, Abuja
Nigerian journalism, once again, came under attack, on Wednesday, as police operatives arrested the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Globalupfront Newspaper (Online), Mr. Madu Onuorah.
Onuorah was whisked away by men of the Nigerian Police Force, at about 6pm, by 10 fully-armed policemen who stormed his residence in Lugbe, Abuja, in two Sienna buses. He was arrested in the presence of his wife and children, who fruitlessly demanded from the police why they were arresting the head of the family.
Upon his arrest, the police 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.
The management of Globalupfront Newspapers, who condemned the arrest of their publisher, called on the police to release Onuorah immediately and unconditionally.
It said: “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. 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.
“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 a frequent occurrence in Nigeria recently.
At the time of filing this report, the police were yet to issue a statement to confirm or deny the arrest of the editor. The FCT command police public reactions officer could not be reached as her phone number was busy when Daily Sun tried to get the police side of the story.
Meanwhile, the FCT Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), yesterday, called for the immediate release of Onuorah.
In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman and Secretary, Òsárétín Òsádébàmwén and Ochiaka Ugwu, respectively, the council expressed worries over the spate of harassment of journalists in the guise of making arrest by the police.
“While we are not averse to the right of citizens to seek redress over legitimate infringement on their rights, we believe that constitutional means should be strictly adhered to in doing this. A condemnable case in point, is the commando-like raiding of the home of Onuorah.
“The manner of arrest leaves much to be desired from a legitimate force of the state; the Nigeria Police, which should have been civil, instead, intimidated and forcefully whisked away Onuorah in a manner akin to kidnapping.
We condemn this total abuse of power laced with intimidation and demand his immediate release,” the council stressed.
The council insisted that, in a situation where a citizen or organisation is believed to have a case to answer, the constitutional path should be activated and followed.
“The NUJ will continue to hold the government and its institutions accountable for the people”.