Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) have demanded immediate freedom for Lagos-based online Publisher, Precious Eze, seized last week by men that identified themselves as ‘members of a special police taskforce from Abuja’.
Atiku blamed the government for Eze’s travails and called for his release.
Operatives reportedly stormed the blogger’s residence at about 1.24 a.m., on December 12, 2023, seized him and confiscated his laptop, phones and other communication devices.
Atiku said in a Tuesday tweet on his official X handle: “Only yesterday, this administration assured that it will always uphold press freedom and respect public opinions.
“But those words are hollow and do not match with the actions of state agencies. Just last week, Precious Eze was abducted by security agents in his Gbagada home in Lagos.
“There was no word to explain his whereabouts and why he was being detained until Nigerians started to raise an alert about the plight of Precious.
“Notwithstanding what the young man may have done, the agencies of the state must let his family, friends, and indeed Nigerians know about his whereabouts.
“This aligns with the spirit of democracy, freedom of speech and respect for journalists to do their jobs of holding government to account without jackboot intimidation. –AA”
Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, urged the concerned government agency to release or charge the publisher to court, if he has any case to answer.
He said: “Whichever agency may have seized, and continues to hold Eze hostage, incommunicado, should release him forthwith. If they have any credible cause to arrest him, they should disclose same and follow legally established procedures for the treatment of suspects of crime.”
According to RULAAC, Eze’s friend, who was with him during the arrest, offered to accompany them, but the operatives declined, and assured him that he would be contacted in the morning with information about the blogger’s whereabouts.
Five days later, he lamented, nothing had been heard from Eze or anyone else, or the reason for the arrest.
“All attempts by his family and colleagues to reach him or unravel his whereabouts and ascertain the reason for his arrest have all been abortive. His family and colleagues are seriously concerned about his safety. One of his relatives said, ‘our concerns are heightened as Eze is known to be hypertensive and is on medication.’ There is uncertainty about his well-being, wherever he may be held incommunicado.
“It is not clear if those who took him are security or law enforcement officials. But if they are, it goes against the grain of professional law enforcement standards and due process to take a person away in such a crude manner, without proper identification, and without informing the person and his relatives about the reason for the arrest and where the person was being taken. A person arrested for any recognisable offence is entitled to due process safeguards, including being accorded the right of access to family and legal representation.”
According to Nwanguma, the Police Act (2020) mandates the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to facilitate access to legal support for all persons at police stations.
“Also, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015) requires that a person being arrested must be informed of his offence at the point of arrest and must be allowed access to family members and legal representation. Family members of arrested persons should also be informed about the arrest of their member,” he added.
The centre called on law enforcement and security agents not to act like kidnappers or in ways that undermine the rule of law.
