The Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN), the flagship organization for digital news publishers demands the immediate release of the publisher of 247ureports.com, Mr Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe who was picked up by the Nigerian police at the FCT-Abuja on the morning of July 5, 2021 over an article published on the website.
In a statement jointly signed by the President, Austin Ogannah and General Secretary, Daniel Elombah respectively and made available to media Houses, today, the Association stated that since his arrest by men from the IGP monitoring team, he has remained in incarceration and has not been charged to court, adding that this is unlawful and an infringement of his fundamental rights.
The body noted that although the Police never formally invited him, he was immediately arrested and taken to the national police headquarters in Asokoro where he was interrogated in the absence of his lawyer.
It alleged that a former chief of staff to the former governor of Anambra, Willie Obiano, Chief Primus Odili, who recently failed in his senatorial bid on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), petitioned the IGP monitoring team to arrest and detain Mr. Ezenekwe claiming the article on him was libelous.
“OPAN gathered authoritatively that Chief Odili has tasked the IGP monitoring team to unmask the source of the article, which Ezeneke has declined to identify citing confidentiality and privilege between journalists and news sources”, it added.
Furthermore, the Association stated that it finds it disturbing and unacceptable that a security agency could allow a citizen to use it to intimidate a journalist.
“The police have continued to intimidate and coerce Ezenekwe demanding to know the source of his story. This is wrong. Is the police above the laws of the land?
“OPAN hereby calls on the police to immediately release Mr. Ezenekwe and apologise to him for his unlawful incarceration”, the statement read in parts.
