Journalist cries out over alleged kidnap attempt

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BRANDish Media, Ikem Okuhu, yesterday, cried out over an alleged kidnap attempt, saying his life is in danger.

Addressing newsmen in his Lagos office, Okuhu said the alleged attempt to kidnap him by men, who claimed they were from the Enugu State Police Command, took place on Friday, August 25, at about 5:30 p.m.

According to him, two men who introduced themselves as officers of the Nigeria Police Force, Enugu State Command, accosted him at Umabor, Eha Alumona, Nsukka, and tried to whisk him away, claiming that they had an order to bring him to Enugu.

He said: “We were at Umabor for the burial of the father-in-law of my younger brother, and I had gone out to make a phone call when one of these people walked up to me and started a casual conversation, but soon said he had an order to bring me to Enugu.

“I initially thought he was joking, and asked him who he was and why I should follow a total stranger to Enugu. That was when he said he was a police officer, and that somebody had written a petition against me. My inquiry as regards who wrote the petition and what the issue was about did not yield anything, as he was soon joined by another roughly dressed man, who also claimed he was a police officer. When I asked them for identification, they refused and instead, tried to herd me to their vehicle, an ash-coloured Toyota Sienna minivan.”

Okuhu, who disclosed that many other journalists and perceived opposition voices had been targeted for incessant arrests and detention in Enugu State in recent times, said the world should know that his life was in danger.

“In the month of July, Ifeanyi Ogenyi, a lawyer and Labour Party (LP) supporter was arrested and detained for alleged ‘cyberstalking’. He was later released. In the same way, a councillor from Eha Amufu, Maxwell Aluagbo, was similarly arrested and detained on the allegation of diverting palliative funds. He was quickly arraigned on a charge of advance fee fraud and committed to prison by yet another Magistrate’s court and was left in jail for weeks.”

Okuhu added: “As a journalist and believer in the inalienable rights of the individual to liberty and free speech, I feel compelled to cry out against these attacks and, more importantly, the latest one, which had the semblance of a kidnap attempt. For people who claimed that they were policemen to refuse to identify themselves while executing what they claimed was a lawful arrest, this cannot be anything but a kidnap attempt.

“I have never in all my life had a run-in with the law. This is because I have intentionally conducted myself in ways that make that absolutely unnecessary. My career in journalism has been stainless, excellent and development-oriented. I have never had any police record anywhere in Nigeria. It was therefore shocking that people who claimed they were policemen could discreetly trail me to where a burial had just taken place to execute a purported arrest order, in pursuit of a petition allegedly written against me. Only people fleeing from the law for committing capital crimes are trailed and arrested this way.

“It was not as if any official invitation had been extended to me and I failed to respond. So, what was the point of trying to whisk me away in such a secret manner, if not for purposes that could possibly be sinister?

“I want the world to know that my life is in danger. I want the world and Nigerian authorities to know that there are plans being hatched against me by certain people in Enugu State. I do not feel safe anymore. That is why I am crying out to Nigerians to know of the dangers that I face as a practicing journalist and as a law-abiding citizen, a bona fide Nigerian. I have not committed any crime, except practicing my profession and telling the truth.”

When contacted, spokesperson for Enugu State Police Command, Daniel Ndukwe, promised to respond to the enquiry, but was yet to do so at press time.