The OurMumuDonDo Movement on Wednesday said it would protest
against the arbitrary arrest of Premium Times
journalist, Samuel Ogundipe, on Thursday if the Nigerian Police fail to
release him from their custody.
Ogundipe was arrested by the Police after he
declined to disclose the source and identity of person(s) purported to have
leaked the report by the Inspector General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, to
acting President Yemi Osinbajo on the invasion of the National Assembly by personnel
of the Department of State Service (DSS) spearheaded by the sacked Director
General, Lawal Daura.
Concerned Nigerians have mount pressure on the
Police to release Ogundipe, arguing that under the Nigerian law, journalists
are not obligated to divulge their journalistic source except in exceptional
cases based on circumstantial grounds and supported by law.
But in a statement signed by Charles Oputa,
OurMumuDonDo Movement; Adeyanju Adedeji Concerned Nigerians; Ariyo-Dare Atoye,
Coalition in Defense of Nigerian Democracy and Moses Paul of Mad Connectt, the
groups maintained that the arrest of Ogundipe, to say the least, amounts to
abuse of Nigeria's constitution with regards to freedom of speech and freedom
of the press.
They said the group "wishes to express its
outright disapproval of the current onslaught on press freedom in Nigeria by
the Nigerian Police Force.
"We are extremely concerned that the IG, Ibrahim
Idris, would openly flout the law of the land by unlawfully detaining Mr.
Samuel Ogundipe of Premium Times Newspaper for refusing to disclose the source
of his story.
"This arrest is an open affront on chapter IV,
S. 39 (1) of CFRN 1999 as amended, which guarantees the freedom of expression
of Nigerian citizens and the freedom of the press in Nigeria.
"We must emphasize that this arrest by the
Nigerian Police is an unacceptable attempt to intimidate, muzzle, and devitalise
our press. The press is a crucial institution of our democracy, and fearless
journalists like Ogundipe should be encouraged and not intimidated with coercion."
They added that "again, we would like to
advise the IG that the Nigerian people are watching and taking records of how
events are unfolding in the country, and they are seeing how he is obstinately
frustrating our democracy with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of
the Nigerian Police which the acting President has ordered its overhaul.
"We would like to believe that Idris would not
want to be seen by the Nigerian people as an enemy of democracy and progressive
reforms. It is in light of this, therefore, that we strongly demand the
immediate release of Ogundipe of Premium Times Newspaper.
"On a final note, we would like to state
categorically that we will not hesitate to mobilise Nigerians of conscience to
the headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force in Abuja on August 16, 2018, if
by the end of August 15, Ogundipe of Premium Times is not released
unconditionally."
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