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The police have summoned a reporter with PREMIUM TIMES, Emmanuel Agbo, over a yet-to-be-published report that he’s engaged on.
Agbo obtained an invite letter dated Might 31, 2024 from the workplace of the Deputy Inspector-Common of Police, Intelligence Response Crew, Abuja through WhatsApp on Monday, based on the platform in a report on Tuesday.
The police have been reported to have despatched the letter after the journalist requested a proper invitation as an alternative of their preliminary invitation through a telephone name.
The journalist was stated to have been initially contacted over the phone on Might 30 by a person who recognized himself as a police officer named Ezemba Ezekiel.
The person reportedly requested that the journalist come over to the workplace of the police’s Intelligence Response Crew in Guzape, Abuja.
“I’m Ezemba Ezekiel from the Intelligence Response Crew. I’m calling you on behalf of Homadils. You might be anticipated to come back over to our workplace at Abattoir in Guzape to make clear a petition,” he stated through telephone name.
The agency, Homadils Realty Restricted, talked about by the police officer within the telephone dialog, is alleged to be a land developer and main celebration to a land dispute which Agbo’s deliberate story is specializing in.
In keeping with the platform, the police invitation got here after Agbo reached out to the Chief Govt Officer of Homadils, Bilkisu Aliu, over the telephone over allegations levelled towards her by a household laying declare to the land in dispute.
Following the telephone name with the policeman on Monday, Agbo requested a proper invitation by writing to him by way of PREMIUM TIMES.
An invite letter dated Might 31 was despatched to the journalist through WhatsApp on Monday with Agbo’s title in a petition with out giving any particulars.
It additional requested the journalist to seem on Wednesday, June 5, at 2 pm on the IRT Advanced, Previous Abattoir by Guzape Junction, Abuja.
In its response, PREMIUM TIMES assured the police of supporting their investigation and requesting particulars of the petition they obtained from Homaldis.
The Managing Editor of PREMIUM TIMES, Idris Akinbajo, within the letter delivered to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, on Monday stated though the letter was dated Might 31, it obtained the invitation on June 3.
“Now we have obtained a letter from you to our reporter, Agbo Emmanuel, wherein you invited him to seem earlier than you on 05/06/2024 at your workplace at ‘IRT Advanced, Previous Abbatoir by Guzape Junction, Abuja’. We obtained the letter at the moment, 03-06-2024, though it’s dated 31-05-2024,” Akinbajo wrote within the letter delivered to the workplace of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, IRT, on Monday.
“We, Premium Instances, are a web-based newspaper devoted to utilizing investigative journalism to carry energy accountable and deepen democracy as enshrined in Part 22 of the Nigerian Structure.
“We’re thus all the time prepared to help regulation enforcement businesses in the midst of their skilled duties. Nevertheless, in your letter to Mr Emmanuel Agbo, you solely acknowledged that your ‘workplace is in receipt of petition…’ however didn’t present any particulars of the petition.
“We ask that you just present extra particulars of the petition to allow our reporter, Mr Agbo, to make ample preparations and produce alongside related supplies when he seems in your workplace. We belief that you’ll deal with this promptly so we and Mr Emmanuel Agbo can put together adequately and help you in the midst of your work. Please be happy to succeed in out to me if in case you have any questions or clarifications,” Akinbajo acknowledged.
The platform famous that the police invitation was as a result of a dispute involving Homadils Realty Restricted and a household over a chunk of land in Guzape, a selection space of Abuja.
It added that the dispute has thrown up allegations of doc falsifications which, it learnt, are being investigated by the Federal Capital Growth Authority.
In latest occasions, there was a surge within the instances of police focusing on journalists for doing their authentic work in Nigeria.
In March, some gunmen hooked up to the Defence Intelligence Company kidnapped the then editor of FirstNews newspaper, Segun Olatunji, from his dwelling within the Iyana Odo, Abule Egba space of Lagos State.
Olatunji’s abduction was linked to a narrative printed by FirstNews titled, “Revealed: “Defence Chief working workplace like household enterprise – Public Curiosity Attorneys”, printed by many different on-line platforms.
equally, in Might, a journalist with the Basis for Investigative Journalism, Daniel Ojukwu, was kidnapped by males of the Intelligence Response Crew of the Inspector Common of Police.
Ojukwu regained his freedom after days 10 days in police custody following protests by some Civil Society Organisations in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
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