Officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have arrested Madu Onuorah, publisher and editor-in-chief of Globalupfront Newspaper, from his residence in Abuja.
Armed police officers reportedly besieged Onuorah’s residence in the Lugbe area around 6pm on Wednesday in two Sienna buses.
In a statement on Thursday, the management of Globalupfront Newspaper said the editor was arrested in the presence of his wife and children.
The management said the police seized the editor’s phones and denied him access to his lawyer and relatives after “dumping” him at the Lugbe police station.
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“The Management of Globalupfront Newspapers states as follows: That the Police should release Mr. Madu Onuorah immediately and unconditionally,” the statement reads.
“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.
“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.
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“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.”
ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS
There has been renewed crackdown on journalists in Nigeria since the turn of the year.
On May 1, Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), was detained by the police for 10 days after he was “abducted” by officers in Lagos.
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On May 14, Jamil Mabai, a freelance journalist, was detained by the Katsina Hisbah religious police after being invited to “interview their spokesperson”.
In March, Segun Olatunji, a former editor of FirstNews, was abducted in Lagos.
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