…Picked him in the presence of his wife, children
…Showed no Warrant for his arrest, nor disclose his offence
From Molly Kilete,
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 ten 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 Mr. 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 Mr. 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 Mr. Madu 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 frequent occurrence in Nigeria recently.
At the time of filing this report the police is 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 this reporter try to get the police own side of the story.
Details later