The police have insisted a PREMIUM TIMES journalist, Emmanuel Agbo, must appear for interrogation over a story he is working on and has yet to publish.
The Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigerian Police Force in Abuja had on Monday summoned Mr Agbo to appear on Wednesday.
A lawyer from PREMIUM TIMES legal team kept the police appointment on behalf of Mr Agbo at the IRT office in Guzape, Abuja, on Wednesday.
During Wednesday’s visit to the IRT office, our lawyer met with the police officer in charge of the case, Ezemba Ezekiel, who insisted that Mr Agbo must personally appear.
The policeman did not give any particular date for the appointment, but said Mr Agbo must appear at his convenient time to disclose the details and sources of documents he is using for his planned report on a land dispute involving an estate developer, Homadils Realty Limited.
The invitation of Mr Agbo by the police, reported widely on various media platforms on Tuesday, has been widely condemned as a ridiculous criminalisation of journalism.
Mr Agbo’s only wrong was doing what the ethics of journalism calls for – seeking to be fair to all parties by asking for the reactions to allegations thrown up in a dispute which is the focus of his yet-to-be-published story.
The PREMIUM TIMES journalist received a police invitation letter from Mr Ezekiel through Whatsapp on Monday. The letter asked Mr Agbo to appear at the IRT office by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, scantily disclosing that the police were investigating a petition in which his name featured.
PREMIUM TIMES, through its Managing Editor, Idris Akinbajo, swiftly wrote to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, IRT, from where the invitation letter emanated. The response to the invitation, delivered at the IRT office on Tuesday, assured the police team of the newspaper’s preparedness to assist whatever investigation they were carrying out. It also requested the details of the complaints against Mr Agbo, to enable him to gather necessary documents in preparation for his appearance on Wednesday.
The police unit has yet to formally respond to our letter.
But despite that, the newspaper sent its lawyer to keep the police appointment on Wednesday.
For the appointment scheduled for 2 p.m., our lawyer arrived at the IRT office as early as noon.
Our legal team met with the officer in charge of the case, Mr Ezekiel, and requested him to provide the details of the complaints against Mr Agbo to no avail.
Invitation over yet-to-be-published story
Although the police refused to disclose the details of the complaints against Mr Agbo, they hinted that the invitation was instigated by an estate developer, Homadils Realty Limited.
Homadils and its promoters are a party to a dispute over a piece of land in Guzape, a choice area of Abuja, which Mr Agbo is investigating for a yet-to-be-published story.
In March this year, Mr Agbo contacted the CEO of Homadils, Bilkisu Aliu, asking for her response to allegations levelled against her by a family which is also laying claim to the same piece of land in dispute.
The PREMIUM TIMES reporter spoke with Ms Aliu over the phone and further exchanged messages with her on WhatsApp, where she shared her reactions to the allegations levelled against her by the family. The interviews both on phone and through Whatsapp messaging went on seamlessly.
Mr Agbo was still gathering relevant facts and verifying claims and counterclaims about the case and had yet to go to press when Mr Ezekiel from the IRT police unit in Abuja phoned the reporter on 30 May, inviting him over for interrogation.
“I am Ezemba Ezekiel from the Intelligence Response Team. I am calling you on behalf of Homadils. You are expected to come over to our office at Abattoir in Guzape to clarify a petition,” said the caller, apparently from the IRT.
Mr Agbo would later ask Mr Ezekiel to formalise the invitation by writing to him through PREMIUM TIMES.
Following this request, Mr Ezekiel sent an invitation letter dated 31 May to Mr Agbo via WhatsApp on Monday.
Police interested in source of planned story
Honouring the police invitation on Wednesday, a lawyer from PREMIUM TIMES legal team met with Mr Ezekiel at the IRT office in Guzape, Abuja.
The police officer told the lawyer that Mr Agbo was invited based on his interview with the CEO of Homadils, Ms Aliu.
He told our lawyer that the police were interested in some documents that Mr Agbo referred to during his interview with the estate developer.
According to him, the police wanted Mr Agbo to confirm the documents and how he sourced them. Essentially, they want the journalist to disclose the source of his information, an ethical violation in journalism.
Mr Ezekiel also reached out to PREMIUM TIMES’ managing editor, Mr Akinbajo, on Thursday, restating the same thing.
The police officer maintained that he still wanted Mr Agob to come forward with the documents at his convenient time.
Increasing suppression of journalism by police
The suppression and criminalisation of journalism through harassment, arrests and detentions by the police have been on the rise recently. Mr Agbo’s invitation by the police is only the latest example.
Recently, the police detained the Executive Director of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Dayo Aiyetan, and an investigative journalist with the platform, Nurudeen Akewushola, for over nine hours.
Both journalists honoured the invitation of the police and arrived at the NPF-NCCC office at noon on Tuesday but were held and only released after 9 p.m. The newspaper had raised an alarm and journalists and activists immediately took to social media to berate the police and call for the immediate release of the journalists.
READ ALSO: Police invite PREMIUM TIMES journalist over yet-to-be-published story
Mr Akewushola said the police claimed they had received a petition, in which he and the ICIR were accused of ‘cyberstalking and defamation’, a popular allegation the Nigerian authorities have used to clamp down on journalists and activists.
In May, the police abducted a reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Daniel Ojukwu, and denied access to his family and employer for days. He was later flown to Abuja after spending days in Lagos custody. He regained his freedom after pressure from local and international media.
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