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Armed policemen abduct journalist from Abuja residence
Story from Usman UMAR
It was another tragic day for Nigerian journalists as Madi Onuorah, the publisher and chief editor of the Globalupfront Newspaper (Online), was abducted by members of the Nigerian Police Force.
According to media accounts, the incident took place when approximately ten heavily armed policemen raided his home in Lugbe, Abuja, arriving in two Sienna buses on Wednesday, May 22 at around 6pm.
Onuorah was taken away in front of his wife and children, who unsuccessfully questioned the police about the reason for arresting the family patriarch.
The police confiscated Onuorah’s cell phones, effectively isolating him from contact with others, including his family members.
He was not granted the opportunity to reach out to his lawyer or any relatives before he was taken to the Lugbe police station by the stern officers.
In order to prevent any attention or possibility of bail, the policemen who detained him, despite not being from the Lugbe Police Station, simply left him at the station without any information for friends and family to locate them.
A press statement from the management of Globalupfront Newspapers, sent to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Nigerian Guild of Editors, urged the police to immediately release Madu.
The statement made four demands:
“The immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Madu Onuorah by the police.
“Mr. Onuorah is a seasoned journalist, former Abuja Bureau Chief of The Guardian Newspaper, and former Managing-Director of The AUTHORITY Newspaper, who operates within the boundaries of the law.
“Anyone with grievances against Mr. Onuorah should seek legal recourse instead of utilizing the Nigerian Police as a force that intimidates a man in front of his family.
“Each moment Mr. Onuorah spends in police custody infringes on his fundamental rights and perpetuates the suppression of freedom of expression, a troubling trend in Nigeria.”
Madu is the third journalist in the past two months to be taken by security agencies in Nigeria.
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