Ogunye, Adegboruwa And Ubani Knock DSS For Journalist’s Continued Detention

Some legal practitioners in the country have condemned
the continued detention of the Abuja Bureau Chief of The
Independent Newspapers, Tony Ezimako, by the Department of State
Services.

Three lawyers, who spoke with our correspondent on Monday, said
Ezimako’s continued detention bordered on illegality as it was
against the provisions of the constitution.

Ezimako was reportedly arrested by the DSS over an investigative
report he published on how the Federal Government paid ransom to
secure the release of some of the abducted Chibok girls.

The DSS was said to have been holding him for about five days,
ignoring the call for his release from various quarters, including
the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

Speaking in a telephone interview with our correspondent on
Monday, activist Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, pointed out
at least three constitutional provisions that were being trampled
upon by the DSS with his continued detention of Ezimako.

Ogunye said, “I join Nigerians in condemning the arrest of the
Abuja Bureau Chief of The Independent Newspapers by the DSS. Of
course, from the report of one of the editors of the journalist
concerned, the DSS reportedly is insisting on the journalist
divulging his source of information for the story that the
newspaper ran on the payment of ransom to Boko Haram to secure the
freedom of some of the Chibok girls. “Now, if that report is true,
then such insistence in our view is against the provisions of the
constitution.

“Secondly, every Nigerian, including journalists, has a right to
disseminate and receive information without let or hindrance. This
is also a constitutional right, which allows Nigerians to establish
media organisations. So, arresting the journalist is also a
violation of his constitutionally-guaranteed right to freedom of
expression and therefore, we have no equivocation in calling for
the release of the journalist.

“Thirdly, what the DSS has done is also a violation of Section
35 of the constitution, which guarantees the right to personal
liberty and which further provides that every person who is
detained shall be brought before a court within a reasonable time.
And Section 35(5) has defined that reasonable time to be that the
person must be brought before the court within 24 hours or 48 hours
as the case may be.

“So, the journalist detention has become unlawful.”

Another activist lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, corroborated
Ogunye’s argument, describing the journalist’s continued detention
as an illegality.

Adegboruwa said, “…If you have arrested a journalist and you
think that the story or the information he has published is wrong,
you can file a case against him for libel, for him to come and
prove the veracity of his story in court. But it is wrong for
government to seek to intimidate the media especially given the
cooperation the current government enjoyed from the media while it
was in opposition.There is no reason at all, under our laws, to
keep him in custody beyond 24 hours.

Also speaking, the Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar
Association, Mr. Monday Ubani, equally condemned Ezimako’s
continued detention.

He said, “…They have been keeping him there for about five days,
I don’t think that is what our law says. Our law provides specific
time within which to arraign a suspect by charging him to court. If
you feel that somebody has committed a crime, the specific time
within which you are to charge the person to court is 24 or 48
hours. But what we do here is that we arrest an accused person and
then begin to forcefully extract a confessional statement and in
that process, keep the person beyond the time limit prescribed by
law because you have not done your investigation very well.”

Some legal practitioners in the country have condemned
the continued detention of the Abuja Bureau Chief of The
Independent Newspapers, Tony Ezimako, by the Department of State
Services.

Three lawyers, who spoke with our correspondent on Monday, said
Ezimako’s continued detention bordered on illegality as it was
against the provisions of the constitution.

Ezimako was reportedly arrested by the DSS over an investigative
report he published on how the Federal Government paid ransom to
secure the release of some of the abducted Chibok girls.

The DSS was said to have been holding him for about five days,
ignoring the call for his release from various quarters, including
the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

Speaking in a telephone interview with our correspondent on
Monday, activist Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, pointed out
at least three constitutional provisions that were being trampled
upon by the DSS with his continued detention of Ezimako.

Ogunye said, “I join Nigerians in condemning the arrest of the
Abuja Bureau Chief of The Independent Newspapers by the DSS. Of
course, from the report of one of the editors of the journalist
concerned, the DSS reportedly is insisting on the journalist
divulging his source of information for the story that the
newspaper ran on the payment of ransom to Boko Haram to secure the
freedom of some of the Chibok girls. “Now, if that report is true,
then such insistence in our view is against the provisions of the
constitution.

“Secondly, every Nigerian, including journalists, has a right to
disseminate and receive information without let or hindrance. This
is also a constitutional right, which allows Nigerians to establish
media organisations. So, arresting the journalist is also a
violation of his constitutionally-guaranteed right to freedom of
expression and therefore, we have no equivocation in calling for
the release of the journalist.

“Thirdly, what the DSS has done is also a violation of Section
35 of the constitution, which guarantees the right to personal
liberty and which further provides that every person who is
detained shall be brought before a court within a reasonable time.
And Section 35(5) has defined that reasonable time to be that the
person must be brought before the court within 24 hours or 48 hours
as the case may be.

“So, the journalist detention has become unlawful.”

Another activist lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, corroborated
Ogunye’s argument, describing the journalist’s continued detention
as an illegality.

Adegboruwa said, “…If you have arrested a journalist and you
think that the story or the information he has published is wrong,
you can file a case against him for libel, for him to come and
prove the veracity of his story in court. But it is wrong for
government to seek to intimidate the media especially given the
cooperation the current government enjoyed from the media while it
was in opposition.There is no reason at all, under our laws, to
keep him in custody beyond 24 hours.

Also speaking, the Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar
Association, Mr. Monday Ubani, equally condemned Ezimako’s
continued detention.

He said, “…They have been keeping him there for about five days,
I don’t think that is what our law says. Our law provides specific
time within which to arraign a suspect by charging him to court. If
you feel that somebody has committed a crime, the specific time
within which you are to charge the person to court is 24 or 48
hours. But what we do here is that we arrest an accused person and
then begin to forcefully extract a confessional statement and in
that process, keep the person beyond the time limit prescribed by
law because you have not done your investigation very well.”