Journalists under the aegis of Ijaw Publishers Forum, IPF, has called on the Department of State Services to release detained Bayelsa journalist and publisher, Bara Ogidi.
Ogidi, who is the publisher of Track News, was arrested on June 6, 2022 on the directive of the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Engr. Simbi K. Wabote.
Ogidi’s Track News had published an article on May 6, calling for the sack of Wabote over alleged fraudulent and corrupt practices.
ATTENTION: Click “HERE” to join our WhatsApp group and receive News updates directly on your WhatsApp!
The call for Wabote’s sack was led by members of the Concerned SPDC EA Host Communities Forum in Bayelsa state, who accused him of abuse of office and breach of public trust.
The group’s statement further accused Wabote of shielding contracts from the SPDC E.A Field OML 79 host communities in Ekeremor council, an action they said led to crises in the state.
However, in a statement on Wednesday by Comrade Austin Ozobo and Tare Magbei, Acting Chairman and Secretary of the IPF, the group described the continuous detention of Ogidi as an infringement of his fundamental human rights.
It argued that the offence the journalist is being accused of is a bailable one, thus he should be released without further delay, adding that the arrest of a journalist was not the best step to correct an erroneous publication.
The IPF stressed that anyone who feels offended by a publication should call for a redress by apology and retraction, and not by unlawful arrest and detention.
The statement, which described journalists as partners in progress, reads in part;
“Journalists are partners in progress, as everyone needs a journalist including the DSS, so why should you suffer your friend because of some mistakes.
“No one is perfect, no professor knows it all, no security operative knows it all, no lecturer knows it all and no president knows it all.
“So, why so eager to punish and witch-hunt law-abiding journalists because of a few errors. It is truly disappointing to observe that the DSS and other security agencies in the country are posing a big threat to press freedom.
“Journalists will soon disassociate themselves from security agencies and individuals who do not have regard for the noble profession,” the statement added.
The group demanded for Bara Ogidi’s release with immediate effect, in other to avoid peaceful protests and other legal processes that might be instituted against the DSS by concerned people of the press and the Bayelsa state at large.
