The arrest reportedly took place at Eze’s residence in Gbagada, Lagos on Monday, May 27 and was instigated by a complaint from businessman and politician, identified as Prince Chris Odinaka Igwe.
In another development which has been described as a continuation of an ongoing assault by the Nigerian police on press freedom, another journalist and publisher of ‘News Platform’, Precious Eze, has been arrested.
He was arrested by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force from the Zone 2 Command.
The arrest reportedly took place at Eze’s residence in Gbagada, Lagos on Monday, May 27 and was instigated by a complaint from businessman and politician, identified as Prince Chris Odinaka Igwe.
Recently, the ‘News Platform’ published a report titled ‘Gunshots In VGC: MD & CEO Of Mainland Oil & Gas Ltd, Chris Odinaka Igwe Alleged to Have Opened Fire After Dog Encounter Turns Hostile’ and a rebuttal titled, ‘Re-Violent Attack On Dr. Chris Igwe: MD, Mainland Oil & Gas Shares His Own Side of The Story On The Incident.’
According to Vanguard, Precious Eze was detained for nearly a week before his colleagues from the Society of Digital Newspaper Owners of Nigeria (SDNON) discovered his arrest and attempted to secure his release on bail, but were unsuccessful.
Eze was subsequently arraigned before the Ebute Meta Magistrate Court on May 30, resulting in a judicial rebuke of the police’s actions.
The magistrate dismissed the case, declaring it without merit and affirming that Eze had no case to answer.
Despite this, Eze was returned to custody and rearraigned before another magistrate on May 31, with the case adjourned to a later date in June.
This series of events not only constitutes a personal ordeal for Eze but also a blatant attack on press freedom in Nigeria.
The police’s actions, seemingly influenced by Prince Chris Odinaka Igwe, demonstrate a clear attempt to intimidate and silence the press, undermining the fundamental principles of democracy and the ability of journalists to report freely and hold those in power accountable without fear of retribution.
Recently a reporter with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, Nurudeen Akewushola and the Centre’s executive director, Dayo Aiyetan, were detained for hours by the Cybercrime Centre of the Nigerian police, a development that led to public outrage and condemnation.
A journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Daniel Ojukwu was also recently detained for days by the police. L
At the time of filing this report, a journalist with PremiumTimes had been invited for questioning over a yet-to-be-published report.