The Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Global-upfront Newspaper (Online), Madu Onuorah, has been whisked away by operatives of the Nigerian Police Force.
Reports obtained by Next Edition revealed that the incident occurred at around 6 pm on Wednesday when approximately ten armed policemen arrived at his residence in Lugbe, Abuja, using two Sienna buses.
During the arrest, Onuorah’s wife and children were present and questioned the police about the reason behind their actions, but their inquiries reportedly went unanswered.
The police allegedly confiscated Onuorah’s phones, effectively isolating him from any form of communication, including contact with his family.
Prior to being taken away by the stern-looking operatives to the Lugbe police station, Mr. Onuorah was denied the opportunity to reach out to his lawyer or any of his relatives. The arresting policemen, who were not from the Lugbe Police Station, deliberately left no trace of their whereabouts, making it difficult for friends and family to locate them.
In response to the arrest, the management of Globalupfront Newspapers demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Madu Onuorah. They emphasized that Mr. Onuorah, with his extensive experience in reputable newspapers such as The Guardian Newspaper and The AUTHORITY Newspaper, has always operated within the boundaries of the law.
“Anybody who has any issue against 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,” the newspapers said in a statement made available to journalists on Thursday in Abuja.
“That 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 a frequent occurrence in Nigeria recently,” the paper noted.
