LAGOS – Outrage, yesterday, greeted the arrest and detention of the four senior editors of The Nation Newspapers.
In unanimity, Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Osun State Government, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), who spoke before some of the senior journalists were released, decried the dictatorial, illegal  and high-handed manner the senior journalists and non-journalist employees of The Nation newspapers were arrested and being maltreated and called for their immediate release.

FOI Act gains threatened – NPAN
Lamenting that the arrest could undermine the progress being made by the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, NPAN, in a statement by its President, Nduka Obaigbena, said:  “The onslaught by the police on The Nation Newspapers, is unhelpful to the atmosphere of free-flow of information being engendered by the historic signing into law, of the Freedom of Information Act, by President Goodluck Jonathan on May 28, 2011.” It urged the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, to release them.

Noting that since FoI Act came into being, that Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Attorney-General of the Federation, had been consulting with civil society groups and the media on how to institutionalise the FoI Act, Obaigbena said: “To say that the police action is a setback would be an understatement as it undermines the constitutional right of Nigerians to a free press. At this time when all hands should be on deck to help the police and other security agencies to deal with our unprecedented security challenges, pursuing journalists and newspaper houses, instead of terrorists, could only be a major distraction.”

From Right; NGE President Gbenga Adefaye, NUJ President Muhammed Garba and NPAN President, Nduka Obaigbena.

Arrest unlawful – NGE
In a statement by its President, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, NGE condemned the “invasion of The Nation newspapers and proxy arrest of editors,” saying that the Nigeria Police Force “took the nation’s rating down by a few notches when its men seized four editors and three non-journalist employees of The Nation Newspapers, in a proxy arrest, while doing their investigative duties on stories published by the newspaper.

Observing that those who came to effect the arrest were kitted in anti-human trafficking kits, Adefaye said: “The drama was irreverent, irrelevant and unnecessary because the law has set out the due process for taking in anyone who has infracted against it. In this case, we are not aware that the editors of The Nation Newspapers shunned any formal invitation to them with contempt. Those editors, who were invited in Abuja, honoured the invitation, with dignity and respect to the authority.

“The Attorney-General of the Federation must share of the blame for the police misstep in these matters: he ought to have advised the action agency – the Police on the letters of the law which is specific on who is responsible for the content of a newspaper.  The law does not allow for proxy arrest., which was the pastime of the dictatorial military regimes. We are 12 years into democratic rule where the rule of law is paramount, where due process, no matter how slow, is compulsory, where self help must be prevented.

“The Nigerian Guild of Editors demands that the arrested and detained editors be released forthwith while the police should follow due process in the discharge of its duties.

Anticipatory arrest without a show of court certified warrant is unlawful and oppressive. It is an atavistic recline into the cave. Keeping the arrested editors beyond 24 hours without being charged to court is unlawful. Nigeria has moved beyond such frontiers and the police are expected to know the limits, within the law.”

NUJ shocked
Around 12 noon, officials of Lagos State Council of the NUJ led by the Chairman, Deji Olumoye, stormed the office of the investigators where they were allowed to have audience with the detained editors.

Speaking with Vanguard after the meeting, Olumoye expressed shock that the editors were still being held 24 hours after their arrest and lamented that it was undemocratic.
According to him, “we thought by now they should have been released but on getting here, we were shocked that they are still in detention.  We were made to understand that directives came from above for their arrest.  Their continued detention is an infringement on their fundamental human rights and we are consulting our team of lawyers to take the case up for the enforcement of their fundamental human rights.

”The annoying aspect of the whole drama is that government is not saying anything about their continued incarceration. Yet, some of them are still incommunicado and not even their family members have access to them.  It is unfortunate that this is happening in a democratic era.  It has not been this bad, 12 years after our democratic rule.”

He continued: “Before now, we received information that somebody was going to trample on the media and we will not be surprised if they invade other media houses.  We are therefore placing all journalists in the state on red alert because this is a bad situation and it is coming after the Freedom of Information bill was signed by the President.”