Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
On Friday, Mr. Chidi Ngadiubia, a newspaper distributor, was detained at Ikot-Akpan Abia by agents of the Nigerian Police Force’s Akwa State command, allegedly on the direction of the State government.
TrackNews reports, Ngadiubia was apprehended by agents who were on their way to arrest Mr. Ifreke Nseowo, publisher of the Mail newspaper, for allegedly publishing offensive material, at his distribution center.
The publisher, who had been on the run, had allegedly been duped by a female caller who claimed to have an advertisement for him that would appear in his newspaper.
The caller was instructed to leave the advertisement materials with the newspaper distributor to be picked up later, the source continued.
However, when they got to Mr. Ngaduibia’s distribution point, they took him into custody and dragged him to the police headquarters in Uyo, the state capital, where they demanded that he produce the publisher or else he face punishment for complicity.
Recall that the plot to arrest the publisher was widely reported by other state-based local tabloids, who claimed that the State government was unhappy with some of the newspaper’s articles because they dealt with the PDP candidate Umo Uno’s alleged certificate forgery scandal.
In the meantime, the Federated Chapel, of which Ifreke Nseowo is a member, has strongly denounced the way journalists are being persecuted in the state.
He claimed that the arrest of Chidi in the place of The Mail Publisher had caused new worries because the Akwa Ibom State NUJ had reaffirmed its position that none of its members should be persecuted or pursued by any person, organization, or entity.
In response to the development, the command’s public relations officer, Odiko Macdon, stated that Mr. Emos Etuk, the State NUJ chairman, had already drawn his attention to the issue.
He urged journalists to practice their profession within the bounds of the law and respect other people’s views while promising that the command would invite the parties involved for amicable resolutions.
“I was just called by the NUJ Chairman on this,” he said. We require more information on this. As a group, we will stand up for the truth. We are devoted to helping this state’s good citizens.
“We desire to call on our amicable Members of the Fourth Estate of the Realms to perform their profession within the ambits of the law and respect other people’s perspectives and rights.
Please let me know if you have any concerns so we can investigate and establish fair conditions for everyone.
