Mr. Segun Olatunji’s story from arrest to detention was like a scene from a movie; a harrowing experience. However, the media industry has risen to resist all forms of media repression. Consequently, the International Press Institute, IPI; Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, and the Nigerian Union of Journalists have vowed to take action against the
Mr. Segun Olatunji’s story from arrest to detention was like a scene from a movie; a harrowing experience. However, the media industry has risen to resist all forms of media repression. Consequently, the International Press Institute, IPI; Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, and the Nigerian Union of Journalists have vowed to take action against the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye, over the editor’s abduction and detention.
Narrating his ordeal after his release at a press briefing organised by the leaderships of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Nigeria Union of Journalists, and IPI in Abuja, Mr. Olatunji said he was blindfolded and flown to the Federal Capital Territory where he was moved to a cell in handcuffs and leg chains for three days.
“Someone came claiming to be from the military. He identified himself as Colonel Lawal. Immediately, he seized my phone. I went to the room to dress up. By the time I got downstairs, I saw soldiers inside the compound taking positions. Outside the gate, I saw about three vehicles with Air Force personnel, the Army, Defence Intelligence Agency, and others all fully armed.
“I was handcuffed and taken straight to the office of the National Air Defence Corps where we waited for three hours. I did not know they were waiting for an aircraft to pick me up to Abuja.
“When the aircraft landed, I was blindfolded and moved to the aircraft, and we landed in Abuja shortly. I was leg-cuffed also. They removed my clothes and I was left with my boxers. I was taken to Cell 9.
“There, I was left with leg and handcuffs. At a point, one of the officers came and tightened the right leg and the right hand, and I was there groaning in pain. They did not loosen it until about two or three days later.
“They first told me that I was one of those abusing the Chief of Defence Intelligence (Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye). They did not say much about that.”
They also asked about a story FirstNews published about the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, which they described as a “major thing”.
“That is why I told some people earlier that those behind my arrest are people in the corridors of power who are not happy with what FirstNews is doing and are bent on taking their pound of flesh,” he added.
Several media bodies have risen stoutly against the maltreatment of Mr. Olatunji in the hands of the military. The IPI. NGE and the NUJ on Thursday during a press conference over the abduction of Olatunji vowed to defend freedom of the press.
The briefing was addressed by the President of IPI, Mr. Musikilu Mojeed; the General Secretary of the NGE, Iyobosa Uwugiaren and the President, the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Chris Isiguzo.
“This is not the end of this matter. The Nigerian media community shall consult further in the next few days on the actions to take against the CDS, the CDI, and the military regarding this matter,” the journalists assured.
The journalists said it was appalling that despite enquiries by the different organisations to find out which of the security organs abducted Olatunji, they continued to lie that he was not in their custody.
The journalists expressed worry over the intention of Olatunji’s abductors. They described the development as a direct attack on press freedom, declaring it unacceptable.
They called on President Bola Tinubu to punish the military officers for the ignoble act, saying their action was a threat to the nation’s democracy.
The statement reads in part:
“We are sure that many right-thinking members of society, including the international community, are both amazed and shocked by the lawlessness and fear-provoking action of the DIA – an agency under the command of Major General Undiandeye, who reports directly to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Musa.
“The DIA’s action makes us wonder about its real intention. Our suspicion is that they planned to secretly eliminate Mr Olatunji so that members of the public could attribute his disappearance to unknown gunmen. But we are glad they failed.
“For us, this vicious, uncivilized, unlawful and criminal action of the DIA is unacceptable. The action is alien to Nigeria’s democratic space. It is now clear that there are some officers in our military who are still finding it difficult to subject themselves to civil authority 24 years after our country returned to representative governance.
“We do not think this kind of attitude should be condoned by President Bola Tinubu, particularly, and Nigerians, in general. If officers in a military institution like DIA could hack a journalist’s telephone, mishandle his wife, abduct him, detain him secretly for 12 days and disobey senior officials of the federal government, then our democracy cannot be said to be safe.
“Although our colleague has now been released, we are calling on President Tinubu to ensure that these officers are punished for their bad behaviour. By all standards, the actions of the DIA, General Musa and Major General Undiandeye are against the provisions of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution and other international instruments to which Nigeria is a signatory – which forbid the detention of any citizen or resident beyond 48 hours, except with a valid court order.
“More so, the DIA’s action is a direct attack on press freedom. One of the core missions of the free press is to serve as a watchdog on power. The press, as we all know, is the connection between the people and the government. If the press is not allowed to carry out its social and constitutional responsibilities but instead obligated to exercise power, it simply serves as an extension of power. Without freedom of the press, our democracy is endangered. In the case of corruption, a free press is critical to exposing abuses of power. For sure, the media is not above the law, but in a democracy, the only way to determine wrong or right is through the legal process.”
On March 15, a group of armed men in military uniform stormed Mr. Olatunji’s Lagos residence and took him away without leaving any information behind about where they were taking him, nor did they state his offence. Since his abduction, he has been unreachable by his family and friends, including his work colleague.
Meanwhile, First News’ management noticed that their editor’s arrest was linked to a series of recent reports published by the news platform. The first report is called ‘Revealed: Defence Chief Running Office Like Family Business – Public Interest Lawyers’. The second report, titled “EXCLUSIVE: How contractor, company stole N100 billion, laundered funds for top government officials – Investigation,” was later taken down by the medium.
As a result, some organisations, including the International Press Centre, International Press Institute, Nigeria Union of Journalists, and Nigeria Guild of Editors, have condemned the kidnapping and called for his release.
Due to pressure from press freedom organizations, the International Press Institute later announced that the editor was in military custody, citing information provided by the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, who quoted top military officers as admitting that their men seized the editor after twelve days of denial.
The story of Mr. Olatunji is just one of the numerous documented instances of press attacks that Nigeria deals with yearly.
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