Nigeria’s premier association of digital and new media publishers, Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN), has condemned the arrest of the duo of Daniel Elombah and Tim Elombah.
The two arrested journalists are publisher and editor respectively, of United Kingdom-based online news website, Elombah.com.
They were arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, of the Nigeria Police Force early hours of the New Year day at Nnewi, Anambra State.
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According to a statement by Austyn Ogannah, the president of OPAN, independent finding shows that the arrest was premised on an opinion article titled “ IGP Ibrahim Idris’s Unending Baggage of Controversies” written by Eboiwei Dickson, that was published on the website as well as dozens of other sites, which the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris found offensive.
OPAN said it viewed the assault on Elombah.com journalists as part of a sustained plot by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to intimidate and suppress press freedom.
“We wish to remind this administration that we are in a democratic dispensation. The practice of using security agencies to harass journalists, especially those operating in the digital media must stop,” the organisation said.
