Three Warri based journalists who were arrested and detained in May at the Police Area Command, Warri, have dragged the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mr. Mohammed Adamu before a High Court sitting in Oto-Udu, Udu local government area of Delta State following their arrest and detention by operatives of the IGP Monitoring Unit.
The journalists; Matthew Omonigho (Daily Post Online Correspondent), Onyekachukwu Meluwa (Punch Correspondent) and Christopher Odamah (Delta Trumpet Correspondent), are among the five journalists who were arrested and detained at the Police Area Command, Warri from 4:30 pm to 12 a.m without any formal charge and in lieu of one of their colleague.
Other respondents in the suit are; DCP Abba Kyari (O/C IGP Monitoring Unit, Abuja) and Detective Reuben Noah.
The journalists are seeking an order from the court directing the respondents to tender an unreserved apology to them which should be published in the Vanguard Newspaper, The Nation Newspaper, and Daily Post Newspaper respectively as well as the sum of N10million as damages against the respondents jointly and severally over their actions. Counsel to the journalists, Oghenejabor Ikimi of the Center for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged, CENTREP, said his clients were released on administrative bail upon the intervention of the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Inuwa Hafiz, and others.
He said: “Owing to the above development, CENTREP took a special interest in the case of the journalists and did write the IGP on the issue, demanding a public apology to be rendered forthwith by the Police high command to the said journalists, but same was to no avail.
“Following the refusal of the Police high command to render a public apology to the said journalists, CENTREP filed the below mentioned fundamental rights suit on behalf of some of the journalists at the Delta State High Court, Otor-Udu.”
