Police arraign Premium Times reporter, as outrage spreads over arrest

The police on Wednesday, arraigned the Premium Times journalist, Samuel Ogundipe before a Magistrates’ Court in Kubwa, an Abuja suburb on a charge of alleged criminal trespass and theft of police document, even as public outrage over his arrest spreads.

Ogundipe was charged to court over the alleged offence contrary to Sections 352, 288 and 319 of the Penal Code.

Premium Times management said in a statement made available on Wednesday that beside the fact that Ogundipe was secretly arraigned on Wednesday afternoon at about 12 noon, he has been denied access to his lawyers.

According to the online news outfit, earlier on Wednesday, the company’s lawyer and staff visited the detention facility of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Abuja, where the reporter was being detained.

The statement reads in part, “At about 10am, the lawyer and staff were allowed to see Mr. Ogundipe. They were also briefed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Sani Ahmadu, who is handling the supposed investigation.

“Mr. Ahmadu and other police officers present asked this newspaper’s lawyer and other staff present to leave the SARS facility and return at 4pm. Earlier, the police commissioner had interrogated Ogundipe and repeatedly asked him to name his source for a story as a condition to be released.

“Despite the protest by the lawyer, Mr. Ahmadu said no action would be taken until 4pm when he asked the lawyer to return. Like most actions of the police since the targeted attack at Premium Times began on Saturday, that turned out to be a ruse and deceit.

“But surprisingly at about 4pm, Premium Times Editor-In-Chief, Musikilu Mojeed, received a call from the court that Ogundipe had been secretly taken to the Kubwa Magistrates’ Court where he was arraigned.

“Even though he repeatedly told the police that he would, as legally allowed need to contact his lawyers or his employer before going to court, the police refused.

“When the charge was brought before the magistrates court there was no mention that Ogundipe was a journalist to the presiding magistrate. The police carefully avoided mentioning that, only telling the magistrate that he was being charged with criminal trespass and theft of police documents.

“The magistrate then gave an order that he be detained for five more days, till August 20. It was the magistrate who ordered that he be allowed to make a call while within the court premises. It was the phone of a court official that Ogundipe used to contact the editor.”

However, Premium Times management said that a review of Sections 352, 288 and 319 of the Penal Code under which Ogundipe was docked did not relate to the alleged offence but are about sexual assault and attempted murder. It therefore called for the immediate release of the journalist.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senator Shehu Sani (APC/Kaduna Central), the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) among others, have expressed outrage over the arrest and prosecution of the Premium Times reporter and have called for his release.

They condemned Ogundipe’s continued detention as a breach of freedom of the press which portrays the country in bad light.

Ogundipe was arrested by the police on Monday, for his refusal to disclose his source of a story published by Premium Times exposing the grammatical errors in a letter from the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on the preliminary report by the police on the ill-fated siege of the National Assembly by the DSS that led to the sack of former DSS DG, Lawal Daura.

Atiku in a statement expressed concern over the journalist’s detention via his official Twitter handle on Wednesday.

“The arrest and detention of @PremiumTimesng’s reporter by @PoliceNG for his refusal to disclose his source to a story raises serious concerns about the preservation of the confidentiality of sources.

“I call for the protection of press freedom as guaranteed by our constitution,” he tweeted.

“The arrest and detention of @PremiumTimesng’s reporter by @PoliceNG for his refusal to disclose his source to a story raises serious concerns about the preservation of the confidentiality of sources. I call for the protection of press freedom as guaranteed by our constitution. -Atiku Abubakar (@atiku), August 15, 2018.

On his part, Senator Sani cautioned that Ogundipe’s arrest and detention over a story would portray the country in bad light.

He stated in a statement that while he “recognized the constitutional duties of the police to investigate breaches of the law, any act capable of tarnishing the image of the country, particularly as it approaches the 2019 general elections should be avoided.

“The Police should treat the Premium Times and it’s journalists with dignity and respect”.

In its reaction, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) condemned in the strongest terms the arrest and detention of Ogundipe at the facility of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Abuja.

“The NUJ is horrified by the constant harassment and molestation of journalists by the police and other agents of the state and requests that such should abate forthwith.

“It should be noted that confidentiality of sources is necessary for good journalism to flourish and journalists should not be coerced into revealing such sources.

We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Samuel Ogundipe and an end to all forms of impunity against the media” the NUJ National President Abdulwaheed Odusile said.