The police on Monday arrested the Coordinator of #RevolutionNow protest in Edo State, Mr. Osunbor Kelly Omokaro.
Omokaro, who is the founder of Faculty of Peace, a civil rights group, was allegedly arrested and detained when he went to the Command to obtain clearance for the protest from the police.
Omokaro, who allegedly arrived at the Command at about 7am, was said to have been invited by the State Commissioner of Police, DanMallam Muhammed, to see him in his office.
A member of the Talakawa Parliament, a CSO, who pleaded anonymity, broke the news of the detention of Omokaro to journalists in Benin.
He described the detention of the activist as an infringement on his fundamental rights.
“As at the time I left the Command, he was busy writing statement,” the source said.
Reacting to the arrest of Mr. Omokaro, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. DanMallam Muhammed, said he was unaware of the arrest of the civil activist.
The CP, however, admitted that the activist ‘was made to write statement.”
Austin Agbonlahor
Similarly The correspondent of the Nations Newspaper in Calabar, Mr Nicholas Kalu, was on Monday arrested at the Cultural Center, Calabar, venue of the #RevolutionNow protest in the state.
Kalu was arrested with some members of the African Action Congress (AAC) and taken to the State Police Command Headquarters at Diamond Hill in Calabar.
Speaking on the arrest, Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), Mr Victor Udu, condemned the arrest and called for the immediate release of the journalist.
“I condemn the act totally, the journalist was just doing his job, he did not go there with any weapon; we call for his immediate and unconditional release,” Udu said.
Similarly, a human right lawyer, James Ibor, said the arrest of the journalist was regrettable and uncalled for.
“The arrest of a journalist who went to scout for information to brief the public is condemnable and it is a way of ensuring that not just the public is gagged, but the press also,” Ibor said.
In his reaction, the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Austin Agbonlahor, said that all the people arrested in relation to the protest were in police custody.
He said they would undergo interrogations to reveal who is a journalist and who is not.
PM NEWS
