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Two press freedom teams, Worldwide Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria and the Worldwide Press Centre (IPC), have condemned the arrest and prosecution of two Bauchi-based journalists, Haruna Mohammed and Idris Kamal.
The police arrested and arraigned Mr Mohammed, the writer of Wikki Occasions, a neighborhood newspaper in Bauchi and his reporter, Mr Kamal, earlier than a Justice of the Peace courtroom for alleged prison conspiracy, defamation of character and cyber stalking.
The newspaper had revealed a narrative claiming that Yakubu Abdullahi, the member of the Home of Representatives representing Bauchi Central Constituency, had allegedly made a collection of threats to Hussaini Musa Gwaba, chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of Bauchi Native Authorities, who was discovered useless in his lodge room after he and different executives of the native authorities chapter of the social gathering had been sworn in.
The newspaper claimed that Mr Abdullahi was against the emergence of Mr Gwaba because the chairman of the native chapter of the social gathering. It added that Mr Abdullahi considers Mr Gwaba to be a menace to his political ambition.
Yakubu Muhammad, an editor on the newspaper, advised PREMIUM TIMES over the cellphone that the police bodily assaulted the journalists in detention.
In a press release, the IPI Nigeria Secretary, Ahmed I. Shekarau, condemned the arrest, detention and the next arraignment of the journalists.
“Anybody who’s aggrieved by any information merchandise revealed by WikkiTimes ought to search redress in courtroom as an alternative of utilizing the police or different safety brokers to harass the journalists,” Mr Shekarau suggested.
The IPI urged the Inspector-Basic of Police to name the police command in Bauchi to order and demanded “the withdrawal and discontinuation of the vexatious costs filed in opposition to the 2 journalists with speedy impact.”
Mr Shekarau mentioned the fees in opposition to the journalists are bogus crimes typically used to intimidate journalists.
In the meantime, the Worldwide Press Centre (IPC) has additionally condemned the arrest of the journalists.
In a press release by the centre’s communication director, Toyin Ayoade, the IPC mentioned the organisation is apprehensive concerning the development of arresting journalists for doing their job.
“For the reason that petitioner alleged defamation, the Police ought to have within the first occasion suggested him to hunt authorized redress as an alternative of illegally detaining the journalists for 10 hours on Monday, June 27, 2022, and subjecting them to bodily and psychological harassment within the course of,” Govt Director of IPC, Lanre Arogundade, mentioned within the assertion.
Mr Arogundade mentioned the police should make sure that the journalists are secure.
Mr Arogundade mentioned journalists shouldn’t be handled as endangered species in Nigeria.
“In all circumstances, the safety companies should at all times attempt to toe the trail of the rule of regulation in dealing with complaints or petitions in opposition to journalists and different media professionals, simply as they need to usually do for all residents,” he mentioned.
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