The Nigeria Union of Journalists, Akwa Ibom State Council, condemned a plot to intimidate the Editor of The Mail Newspaper, Comrade Ifreke Nseowo, by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in the state.
The Akwa Ibom State Chairman, Comrade Amos Etuk, said: “The Union is aware that a newspaper distributor, Mr. Chidi Ngadiubia, was arrested on Friday, August 12, 2022, in place of Comrade Nsewo. It was gathered that Nsewo had received a call from a lady, who asked him to come for an advertorial, but he ( Nsewo) directed her to Ngadiubia.”
Etuk, said that the NUJ was not against the Police arresting any member of the Union who had contravened the law, but urged security operatives should always follow due process.
In the case of the current plot to arrest Nseowo, the Union insisted that the right thing would be to invite him to the Police station, where he would be informed of the allegations against him, instead of the crude tactics of arresting Ndagiubia, in lieu of Nseowo.
“However, the Union insists that if the plot to arrest Nseowo is connected to any story published in his newspaper, the aggrieved party should seek redress in Court. If the publication has criminal contents, Nseowo should be invited, instead of the frantic attempts to take him into custody like a common criminal. The Union hereby calls for the immediate release of Ndagiubia as the new Akwa Ibom State Justice Administration Law, is against such practice,” said Etuk.
