The Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Globalupfront Newspaper (Online), Mr. Madu Onuorah on Wednesday was whisked away by men of the Nigerian Police Force at 6:00 pm
The management of the newspapers, in a statement on Thursday, said that no fewer than 10 armed policemen stormed the journalist’s residence in Lugbe, Abuja, in two Sienna buses around 6pm yesterday and removed him from his house in the presence of his wife and children.
Efforts by his wife and children to demand why Onuorah was being arrested were fruitless as the policemen ignored them.
The police were also said to have seized Mr Onuorah’s phones, 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 relatives before being taken to the Lugbe police station by the stern-looking operatives,” the statement read.
“To ensure Mr Onuorah did not receive attention or bail, the policemen who apprehended him, though not from the Lugbe Police Station, simply dropped him off at the station and left no traces for friends and family members to reach them.
The management of Globalupfront Newspapers, in the statement, demanded that the police should release Onuorah immediately and unconditionally.
They said that Mr Onuorah is an experienced journalist and former Abuja Bureau Chief of The Guardian Newspaper, as well as the former Managing Director of The Authority Newspaper, who operates within the ambit of the law.
They added that anyone with issues against Mr Onuorah should approach the law court instead of turning the NPF into a Gestapo outfit that intimidates a man in front of his wife and children.
Globalupfront Newspapers insisted that any moment Mr Onuorah spends in police custody constitutes a serious infringement of his fundamental rights and a continuation of the assault on freedom of expression that has become a frequent occurrence in Nigeria.
Confirming the arrest, the spokesman of Ebonyi State Police Command, DSP Joshua Ukandu, said the journalist was arrested based on a petition.
He said, “Our men assisted in arresting him based on a petition from Enugu command. I don’t know the details of the petition, but they are taking him to Enugu now. I am sure Enugu command would be able to give you details of why he was arrested.”
