Police in Nigeria on Tuesday detained a journalist who refused to reveal the source of an article he published.
The reporter who works for Premium Times, published a story relating to the takeover of the parliament house by armed men last week.
The article published by the reporter referred to a confidential letter sent to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo by the police chief on the siege.
Samuel Ogundipe, the reporter in his article said the Inspector General Ibrahim Idris had written to Osinbajo – Nigeria’s vice president on the siege blaming former spy chief for the incident.
Police have been asking Ogundipe for his source of the said confidential letter, which he refused to disclose.
The editor-in-chief of Premium Times, Musikilu Mojeed and another reporter were also detained in the capital, Abuja.
They were released after hours of detention over the said publication. Other news media outlets also published articles relating to the same confidential briefing.
His name is @SamuelOgundipe. He is currently being detained by the @NigeriaPolice. He is a @PremiumTimesng reporter. His crime is refusing to disclose his source and daring to be audacious in his report. Let us demand for his unconditional release. #freeSamuelOgundipe pic.twitter.com/857wAYG5U0
— Muruako Emmanuel (@Muruako_tweets) August 15, 2018
Deputy Commissioner of Nigerian Police Sani Ahmadu is reported by The Premium Times to have said that he was unperturbed by the embarrassment the detention of Ogundipe will bring to Nigeria.
“I don’t care if I embarrass Nigeria or not. I have the right to keep him here and I will keep him until he reveals his source,” he is quoted as saying.
Nigeria is ranked 119th out of 180 countries in World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.
There have been calls for the Nigerian reporter’s release from custody.
Source: Africafeeds.com
