Police arrest journalist for report against ex-CBN gov's firm

Date: 2019-10-30

The Kwara State Police Command has arrested a journalist with NewsDigest, Adebowale Adekoya, over a report which seemed to be targeted against a company owned by a former acting governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs Sarah Alade.

According to PRNigeria, the report titled, 'Inside Kwara factory where Indian hemp smoking is legalised', centred on Hillcrest Agro-Allied Industry, one of the group of companies owned by Mrs Alade.

It was however learnt that Adekoya was not the author of the story but another reporter with the outfit.

Adekoya was arrested in Ikorodu, Lagos while going home and whisked away to Ilorin, Kwara State.

The story was published by NewsDigest in May, 2018.

In the report, it was stated that Hillcrest Agro-Alied Industry tolerated the smoking of cigarettes as well as Indian hemp by workers within its vicinity.

The NewsDigest's investigative journalist, in his report, further disclosed that workers smoked Indian hemp at will without being sanctioned.

It was also reported that the firm refused to respond to author's inquiry on the disturbing situation, after he had put several calls and text messages to the industry's hot line.

Lawyer to Adekoya, Yunus Abdulsalam, told The PUNCH that he had not had access to his client since his arrest.

Abdulsalam lamented that his client was arrested for another person's alleged act, adding that this was unlawful.

He said, "He is still in detention and efforts are on to secure his release. They have not even stated his crime because we haven't been granted access to him but the information we got was that he was arrested over a report in NewsDigest in 2018.

"He was not even the author of the report. That is the strange aspect of the entire saga. Nigerian law prohibits arrest by substitution."

Confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer in Kwara State, Mr Ajayi Okasanmi, said the journalist would be taken to Abuja as part of investigations.

Okasanmi said, "The case is being investigated. It is a case of defamation of character. The character of a person was defamed. He was arrested and taken to Kwara. He will also be taken to Abuja as part of investigation.

"There is an element of criminality in the allegations. It is not just defamation alone. By Wednesday, we will have more information."

Reacting to the arrest, Gidado Yushau, Editor of NewsDigest, expressed shock over the arrest of his online newspaper's webmaster, describing the police's action as an "unbridled illegality."

The police have in the last one year arrested several journalists for alleged defamation, a move which has been criticised by Amnesty International and other rights groups.

Source

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Funmilayo Zubair     IFK     Vasolar     Kayode Bankole     A.G.F Abdulrasaq     Government High School (GHS), Adeta     Just Event Online     Obasanjo     Issa Memunat Moyosore     Saliu Ajia     Wahab Kunle Shittu     Esinrogunjo     Sherif Shagaya     Ahmed Shuaib Buranga     Umar Danladi Shero     Gamji Members Association     Oyawoye     Ahmad Fatima Bisola     Usman Alkali Baba     Owo Isowo     Olukotun Of Ikotun     Kayode Oyin-Zubair     Okin Group     Monsurat Omotosho     Ibrahim Mohammed     Edu     AbdulRasaq Abdulmajeed Alaro     New Model Police Station     IEDPU     Mahmud Ayinla Giwa     Christian Association Of Nigeria     Sobi FM     Alumni Association Of The Federal Polytechnic Offa     Olomu     Temitope Ogunbanke     Madawaki     Aminat Ahmed     Jimoh Lambe Abdulkareem     Ilorin General Hospital     Binta Abubakar Mora     National Pilot     Ilota     Salami Adekunle     Ibraheem Adeola Katibi     Abdulrahman Abdulrazak     Ogidi-Oloje     Abatemi Usman     Mufti Of Ilorin     Freshvine Nigeria Limited     Ileloke     Mahmud Babatunde Baker     Abubakar Abdullahi Bata     Illyasu Abdullahi     IsDB     Gbenga Olawepo     Kwara State Council Of Chiefs     08001000100     Saidu Yaro Musa     Kwara State Health Insurance Agency     General Hospital, Offa     March 28     Okin High School     Oke-opin     Aliyu U. Tilde     Adedipe     A.E. Afolabi     Irepodun     Shuaib Olarongbe     Atiku Abubakar     Aminu Adisa Logun     Adedeji Onimago     Nurudeen Mohammed     Yusuf Babatunde Abdulwahab     Abdulkadir Bolakale Sakariyah     Maryam A. Garuba     Suleiman Yahya Alapansapa     Salihu Yahaya    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

NaAllah     Ile Arugbo     Yomi Adeboye     Veterinary Teaching Hospital     Aliyu Muyideen     General Hospital, Offa     PharmAccess Foundation     Moro     Oloruntoyosi Thomas     Yusuf Abdulkadir     Dairo Kunle Paul     Iponrin     Afolayan     Matthew Okedare     Ilorin General Hospital     Paul Olawoore     Abdulkadir Remi Hawawu     Tunde Oyawoye     Oyelere Oyinloye     Hussein Olokooba     Jimoh Akani     Twitter     Kwara Politics     Ayinde Oyepitan     Hussein Oloyede     Students Union Government     Umar Sanda Yusuf     SWAN     Apata Ajele Secondary School     Ndakene     Maryam Ado Bayero     Babata     Ahmed Dankaya     Marufat Oladosu     Saka Onimago     Kwara 2019     Olateju Lukman     Ilorin Curfew     Dan-Kazeem     Naira Redesign     Amina Susa\'a De Ahmed     Halimah Perogi     Magaji Nda     VADA     Kayode Alabi     Muhammad Mustapha Suleiman     Mustapha Akanbi     Iliasu     New Model Police Station     Countryside Emerging Leaders Fellowship     Ganiyu Taofiq     Ogbondoroko     Segun Ogunsola     Ogidi-Oloje     Olokoba     Khadijat Ayoola Yusuf     Dar-Al-Handasah Consultants Ltd     Abdullahi Samari     NTA Ilorin     Salmon Babatunde Salmon     Ilorin Amusement Park     Unilorin FM     Muhammed Mahe Abdulkadir     Ronke Adeyemi     Ilorin Muslim Community     Segun Abifarin     Tayo Alao     NIPR     Otunba Taiwo Joseph     Bilikisu Oniyangi     Emir Of Ilorin     Abdulmajeed Wahab     Kwara State Internal Revenue Service     Okeose Christian Cementary     Emir Of Lafiagi     Justina Oha     Government High School Adeta