Police arrest, detain another editor in Abuja

Police operatives have arrested the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Global Upfront newspapers (Online), Madu Onuorah, in Abuja.

It was gathered that Onuorah was arrested by the police at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

About ten fully armed policemen in two Sienna buses were said to have stormed his residence in the Lugbe area of Abuja.

The management of Globalupfront Newspapers, in a statement on Wednesday, said the Editor was arrested in the presence of his wife and children who fruitlessly demanded from the police why they were arresting the head of the family.

The organisation added: “The police have seized Onuorah’s phones, thereby completely cutting him off from communication with people, including his family members.

“He was not even allowed to contact his lawyer or any of his relations before he was whisked away to the Lugbe police station by the stern-looking operatives.

“To make sure Mr. Onuorah did not get attention or bail, the policemen who arrested him, though not of the Lugbe Police Station, simply dumped him at the Station and left no traces for friends and family members to reach them.”

The management said the police should release Onuorah “immediately and unconditionally”.

The platform noted: “Mr. Onuorah is an experienced Journalist, former Abuja Bureau Chief of The Guardian Newspaper, former Managing Director of The AUTHORITY Newspaper, who operates within the ambit of the law.

“Anybody who has any issue against Mr Onuorah should approach the law court and not turn the Nigerian Police into a Gestapo outfit that bullies a man in the presence of his wife and children.

“Any second Mr Onuorah spends in police custody constitutes a serious infringement against his fundamental rights and a continuation of the assault on freedom of expression that has become frequent occurrence in Nigeria recently.”