“Kidnapped” without even informing his wife or granting him the fair hearing of extending a lawful invitation to any office that he has now being driven to secretly,” full statement Platforms Africa, HURIWA issued on journalist’s alleged abduction by Nigerian Army
Reactions have trailed the alleged abduction of a Nigerian journalist, Segun Olatunji, with rights fora; Platforms Africa and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), demanding his release and fair hearing.
Olatunji, the Editor of FirstNews and a member of Platforms Africa forum was reported to have been kidnapped by 10 men in military uniform, and driven to an unknown destination at the weekend.
Team lead of Platforms Africa, Adeola Yusuf, who expressed shock over the incident, maintained that Olatunji’s cell phone numbers have been switched off since his alleged abduction five days ago.
“Since his abduction, we are yet to hear from him. His lines have been switched off. His wife and children are confused and traumatised as we speak. By now, we expect the Nigerian Army to have denied or confirmed involvement, release him or state publicly why Olatunji is being held,” Adeola Yusuf said.
Corroborating Adeola Yusuf’s view, (HURIWA) also demanded the immediate release of the FirstNews online newspaper’s editor.
HURIWA, in a statement specifically called on the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa, or the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, to release Olatunji forthwith.
The group expressed worry that once again, Nigeria has returned to the dreaded days of the late General Sani Abacha type of media repression and the abductions of media practitioners.
Meanwhile, HURIWA has carpeted political office holders at the highest levels of government in Nigeria of displaying total aversion to media freedoms and are in mortal apprehension of the populace coming up to demand accountability from them.
Besides, HURIWA has asked the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, to speak and work vigorously to get public office holders to operate by the principles of the rule of law and to obey the provisions of Chapter 4 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which encompassed sections obliging the government to enforce the fundamental media and information freedoms.
“The current information minister unlike his predecessor, who is not a professional journalist, is a member of the Nigerian media and indeed one of the most reputable media owners. He should and must defend media freedoms and the right of the media practitioners to practise their profession in line with the provisions of the constitution and to uphold the obligations of public office holders to uphold the principle of accountability because the media, as the fourth estate of the realm, is the conscience of the nation and should be allowed to play these roles stipulated by Section 22 of the Nigerian constitution,” National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said.
Onwubiko described the circumstances surrounding the surreptitious kidnapping of a reputable journalist in the person of the editor of the FirstNews online newspaper, Olatunji, when it is obvious that the gentleman is one of the finest of the journalism profession who is very observant of the ethics of the journalism profession and has been known both in Abuja and Kaduna to have showed greater passion for objective, balanced and standard ethical journalism devoid of hearsay, innuendos or rumours.
HURIWA is therefore calling on the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Army Staff to immediately order the investigation of the circumstances that led soldiers to allegedly kidnap a media practitioner without even informing his wife or granting him the fair hearing of extending a lawful invitation to any office that he has now being driven to secretly.
